The way Things Are
by Genesisgoboom
Summary: continuation from 'A Little Insight" Zutara
1. Woman Scourned

_I have three months to write this out before the next episode comes out and makes it completely not plausible XDDD So enjoy it while it's a possibility_

* * *

Zuko's hand faltered over the paper, he returned his brush to the ink pad and heaved a sigh. Not one entry had he placed to his journal since the night Katara had read it. Not once had he trusted himself to put his words onto paper.

Zuko had hoped things would become easier, but he was mistaken, Katara seemed as cold to him as if that night had never happened. If not worse. He drew back once more and took a breath, lifting his brush once again. But once more. Words failed him. He placed the brush down entirely this time and began to pace his room. Thoughts streaming through his mind with each step

'If I write what I am feeling, she might read the entry. And writing a journal on the days events would not help to clear my mind from the thoughts I am having. This is ridiculous'

The night was wearing thin, and soon people would be rising from slumber, yet still Zuko paced. Beating out the train of his thoughts in feeble hope that each footsteps might resolve the confusion he was facing

--

Katara was sitting by the fountain; her hand was skirting the water as it had done for the last three nights. She was ill at ease. One part of her was glad to have learned of Zuko's past. To have learned of his thoughts, but another part was screaming bloody murder at her. It was so much easier to hate him, rather then this state of like she had found for him.

She was finding herself arguing with him for no reason whatsoever. Stupid things, for instance, just earlier that day, she had complained that he was blocking her light, and he should have known better then to stand there when she was bending. Zuko had said nothing, but stormed away from her. Leaving her with a blinding light in her eyes.

Katara poked at the surface of the water, looking at how the reflection of the moon broke into fragments between the ripples. She did not even hear Aang coming up behind her. Yet she did not jump as he took a seat beside her.

"Katara, are you angry at me? For letting Zuko join us?"

Her azure eyes lifted to look into Aang's soft grey ones. Was she angry? If he had asked her a few days ago, she might have said yes, but now…

"No Aang, I am not angry. Zuko, he confuses me. I don't want to have him get close to you, just so he can hurt you again"

Aang shook his head and then looked to the reflection of the moon. He did as Katara had just done, breaking the reflection to watch it shimmer

"Katara, I think Zuko was just… really confused. As the Avatar I have to be able to forgive people, and let them prove they have changed, I need to be able to let things go. But that is my responsibility, not yours. I can't ask you to be friends with Zuko, nor can I ask you to forgive him. But I can't sit by and watch you being hurt either. If there is anything I can do to help. Settle this conflict?"

Katara pulled Aang into a hug, a fresh blush creeping on Aang's cheeks as a result of it, as she pulled back, her eyes were closed. Aang thought to himself that it would be the idle time to kiss her again, as he was leaning in however, words broke the silence

"Aang, I said I would go along with whatever you thought was best, but I can't let go of how much he hurt me so easily, just give me time, I need to sort out my feelings before any resolution can be found."

Aang watched her as she rose from the fountains edge, looking at her retreating back as she made her way to her room, he hefted a sigh, it was clear that the atmosphere had not been great since Zuko joined them. Sokka was provoking him at every given moment. And Katara was picking fights with him all the time. The only ones that didn't seem to mind him at all were Toph and the Duke.

--

Morning came, Zuko could feel the draw of the sun, calling to him to wake up, but he resolutely rolled to the side and ducked his head under the covers. He had walked the space of his room all the night before. So it was not surprising to find that he was reluctant to rise at day break.

He lay there awake under his covers for what seemed like an eternity. Not rising to the sounds of Haru and The duke thundering past his door, not even when Teo crashed into it. Toph came to his door and yelled about breakfast. Zuko just grumbled back that Sokka could have it. Sokka came later and thanked him.

It was only much later in the morning that a knock came to his door that roused him enough to actually sit up.

"Zuko?"

Katara's voice rang through the door. Zuko did not know what to expect, so he said nothing. Just listening to see what would happen next.

"Zuko, Toph is worried about you, she said 'Sparky never gets up this late, he must be sick or something' Can I come in?"

Katara did not wait for a reply, opening the door anyway. Zuko was sitting up as he closed it behind her. He looked tired, a dark rim had taken home under his good eye, and his hair was mussed more then usual. Katara looked over to his desk and then back to him.

"You won't find anything new in there, I haven't written anything in since our talk…"

"Zuko…"

Katara's voice started off soft, but standing there, she felt a churning in her stomach, and suddenly her eyes became hard

"So what?! You are going to stay in here? Sulking? You don't even care that there are people who are worried about you! Instead you are sitting in your room and brooding! About what! Did you really think that one night like that and everything would be okay! Well you have another thing coming mister, because it takes more then a few words written on paper to make me trust you fully! You Think you can just swan in and say you're sorry and everything will be alright?! Well it doesn't work that way! You have No Idea how much people have sacrificed! Suffered!"

Zuko stood bolt upright, swinging his legs to the floor as the water tribe girl shouted at him, he was standing as she spat out the last word. Zuko could feel his temper rising, his fist clenched tight and his eye twitched in irritation.

"How Dare you! You talk to me about suffering! About sacrifice! At least you have a home to go to after this is over! I am marked now and forever as a traitor! While you have a family to go to, I have a father who banished me as a child and a sister that is baying for my blood! If I am lucky, Uncle may forgive me. But I betrayed him also. His hurt runs much deeper then any I inflicted on you."

"You chose your path Katara! I was not offered that luxury in the beginning. You want to talk about sacrifices. I gave up my home, My family and my birthright, all in the hopes that I could for once do the right thing. Yet here I am finding myself punished more severely then my father ever could. I do not need your judgmental eyes criticizing every step I take! I came here to teach the Avatar how to Firebend! I did not come here to make friends or to be forgiven, I have long gone past the point of forgiveness, I know that already!"

He made a beeline to the door and flung it open. He glared at the faces of Aang, Sokka, Haru and The Duke as they stumbled back from the door; He let out a grunt and turned to go to the fountain.

Katara came storming out after him shoulders set and arms flailing.

"I never SAID this was about ME Zuko! And don't think you little pity me trip will work this time! I already fell for that once!"

He turned and pointed at her. His hands shaking with the anger he was trying to contain

"You! You must be the most! The most irritating woman I have ever met! And Azula is my sister! At least I know what she is doing, even if I don't always know how or why she is doing it, I always know she is looking out for herself. But you! I don't understand you one bit! What do you want from me?!"

She had not expected the question, and silence rang out around the temple as everyone present waited with baited breath for her to answer

"Well… You could help out with the chores for one. Sokka is going hunting later, you can go with him. And you can help with the washing. I am sure having spent so much time in a tea shop; you know how to wash dishes."

Sokka Snorted and Katara rounded on him snapping at her brother as well

"Oh you think it's funny! You're just as bad as he is! You lay around this place expecting things to be done for you! Well no more Sokka, just because Aang is learning all the elements so he can face the firelord. Doesn't mean we can't be making plans! While your hunting you can talk with Zuko and find out as much from him as you can about the palace, that way we can make plans on how we might sneak in."

"Haru, Duke. Appa need brushing down. Aang. We are going training"

Katara stormed off with a worried looking Aang in tow, Haru and The duke looked at each other before heading off towards Appa. That left Sokka and Zuko facing each other. Momo was settled to Sokka's shoulder

They faced each other in relative silence for a while, before Sokka shrugged

"Well I guess we should go get ourselves some meat"

The slender youth turned and began walking towards the spiraling stairs the lead up to the undergrowth above, after a moment, Zuko followed him. It was not a great start to his morning…


	2. In Retrospect

Chapter 2

Zuko had backtracked to his room to get dressed, only realizing his state of undress when Sokka had pointed out that hunting topless manly as it was, would not be the best idea, and unless he wanted to fight barehanded (though Zuko had his firebending to help) he might want to get a weapon to help also.

The trip up the mountain side was made in silence, as was the walk into the under-growth; even as they began tracking nothing was said. It was not an uncomfortable silence, it was just that Sokka suddenly found he had nothing really to talk about, and as thrilling as it might be to have a jump on the fire nation, there was something holding him back from asking Zuko.

After pinning what appeared to be a wild bearsheep. Sokka coughed loudly to get Zuko's attention. The fire prince just looked up at the warrior, before attending to there prize once again.

"Sooo Sparky, I can call you Sparky right?"

"I don't really care"

"Riiiight, well…did you really work in a tea shop?"

Zuko looked up to him and then looked down smiling

"I did, in Ba Sing Se, We, that is my uncle and I, we worked in the lower ring for a while, and then Uncle was given his own shop to run. I was helping him."

"I can't really picture you as a… tea server"

Zuko grinned and then looked at Sokka again

"Well I can't really picture you as a warrior. But Ty Lee talked about you a lot, though she doesn't actually know your name. She said…"

Zuko straightened and flicked his hair from his face

"His Aura was sooo Green, and I couldn't lay a hit on him the last time we met, he's like a challenge! His head is really hard too! He must have a really thick skull"

Sokka gawped with mouth ajar; there was something disconcerting about the fact that Zuko just did a rather good impression of the cute girl that followed his psychotic sister.

"Is that an insult? And My Aura is not green"

"I don't think it was an insult, she sort of swooned when she said it, I think you have a stalker in her"

"I do not want some crazy Firenation woman stalking me thanks"

"There's nothing wrong with Ty Lee"

"Aside from the fact that she is trying to kill us?"

Zuko froze, mouth half open and then he closed it again. Returning to the bindings on the Bearsheep. After a moment he spoke in a soft tone

"Ty Lee has been friends with my sister for a long time, she looks up to her, she sort of idolizes her. She is a really sweet girl at the heart of it, its sad really… Azula is using her because she is useful, it's the only reason she keeps her around. But that is the way things are back home. I would walk around the palace, servants would attend to me. I would visit Mai. But the only time I would be called for, was times I was useful to someone, other then that… Well… the palace is not really a place you can really be yourself. It took me a while to realize that… I am not saying that what she is doing is right… But I can see it from her side; I don't think she realizes that she is doing wrong… that's all I am saying…"

Sokka jabbed his boomerang mid air and grunted

"Even if you say that, it's not like I can just stand there and let her do her pokey jiggery thing on me, all because she doesn't realize its wrong. I don't really get all this stuff, I mean. Is the Firenation so messed up that it can think this is really right?"

Zuko hauled the beast over his shoulder using the rope and sighed

"My Father is a very convincing leader. As his father before him. Our nation has been brought up to believe that we are sharing our greatness with the other nations. That this war. It is against rebels that seek to break the peace we are trying to create. When you are brought up being told this, not seeing the world with your own eyes… all you can believe is what you are being told."

"I guess I was lucky in hindsight. If I had not been banished, I would not have seen the world through the eyes of others. In hunting the avatar, Aang, I traveled to many places, and witnessed firsthand the brutality of the Firenation. I saw only fear in others as we were spoken of. It was very different to what we had been told. If I had been living in the palace, only knowing the words spoken by my father, I may have ended up as cruel as him."

Sokka collected two birds that they had slain previously and cracked his neck before moving up beside Zuko.

"I dunno. You were pretty ruthless when you fought us before. I mean, you were pretty relentless in hunting us. Though your sister was worse. And you did use any means to get Aang, though that time you were with the pirates, you didn't actually hurt Katara. So I guess you weren't that bad… Actually, you never hurt us that time with paralyzing monster lady either. Well you did take Aang that time in the North Pole, but I guess you didn't really hurt us then either…"

Sokka stopped, trying to recall a time Zuko really did them harm.

"You… lets see… we didn't really see you after the North Pole. Before then, you only really chased after Aang; you never really tried to hurt Katara and me."

Zuko had kept walking, but he could hear well enough.

"I had no reason to hurt you. I was only meant to hunt the Avatar. No one else needed to be hurt. I am not fond of hurting people you know"

"Well you must have done something to hurt Katara, she is pretty mad at you. I have never seen her like this before"

Zuko hefted a sigh and walked on. Sokka was right, he had hurt her, but if wasn't a physical injury. He was going to have to talk to her before this got out of hand.

* * *

Katara stood in the creek, Aang faced her with hands ready. She was going to attack him, and he was to use his water bending to deflect the attacks.

"You know what annoys me about Zuko! He thinks that just because he is here! He is forgiven! I mean, how Arrogant and pompous! Like saying your sorry makes everything better! Well you know what! It doesn't!"

She released her first attack, a snake of water whipping up around her body, he froze it in a coil about her, pressing her hands to one side of it, and she sends a spray of daggers towards Aang.

The young Airbender erected a wall of ice in front of him, but the daggers penetrated the wall and he found himself flipping back having to call three arms of water to catch the daggers that had cleared the wall's defenses

"And he just throws his weight around! Like he is some leader!"

She sent a whip Aang's way, which he defected, sending a powerful rush of water back to Katara.

"No he doesn't Katara; I have never once seen him throwing his weight around…"

Katara slammed the water down into the stream

"What! You're taking his side!"

"I never said that. It's just that…"

"Just what Aang! He betrayed us! And now he is just accepted into the group! Well I don't except that! I don't trust him!"

"Katara… Just, hear me out. I don't know what has happened, with Zuko and you I mean, but something isn't right. I mean, it's like its personal to you."

Katara flailed her arms and then swung her back to Aang

"Of course it is! You weren't there Aang! You didn't see how he fooled me; He tricked me into thinking he really had changed! And he is doing it again! He… He will just betray us when the time comes, all to get his honor back"

Aang bit his lip and began walking out of the water, it was clear training wasn't going to be happening, not with her so angry. And it was also clear she needed some time to cool down

"He had his honor back Katara… And he gave it up; to help me… it has to count for something…"

When Katara turned to face Aang again, she found herself looking at an empty space, She knew herself she was being pigheaded about it, and she knew that even she didn't believe what she was saying, but she was not ready to like him yet! She didn't want to just trust him right away. As if everything was fine, as if he did not …. Choose his home and family… over them.

Katara let out a large sigh and then sunk back into the water. Putting herself into his shoes. She would have done the same thing. When she stopped to think about it. And that just made her even more furious at the fact that he had given everything up to go to them. He was meant to be a bad guy. He was meant to only see it from his side of things.

Why did he have to be so… so… understanding all of a sudden? When he had caught her snooping, he should have been angry at her, thrown her out of his room, he should not have let her read his Journal!

She was blaming him on that also. Letting his guard down, he seemed so desperate for her to understand him, forgive him. That it made her want to resist it more. He was first and foremost, the prince that had hunted them down. The one who attacked her village. He stole her mother's necklace. Though in his journal he had claimed to have found it… but that wasn't the point, he used it to track them. He had tied her to a tree and used her as bait. He had fought against her in the North Pole… taken Aang away…

"But he didn't kill me… or Aang… even then, it was like, he was holding back…"

* * *

The two had returned to the temple in good time, and Sokka realized he had not quizzed Zuko once about the palace, Zuko who was making short work of skinning their prize was sitting with his back facing the other…

"Soooo Zuko, I hear there is a secret river that goes into the palace…"

"That wont work."

"I don't see why not? We could creep in at night and"

"That river is so secret even school children know about it. It is usually the first place that invaders attack. There are many deadly traps planted in it to protect the fire lord, going by that root would be suicide."

"Oh."

Sokka plucked a few feathers from his beavergoose, before turning to get a good look at Zuko, the prince had not turned around, and was almost finished with his chore, Sokka had to admit he was efficient.

"well, what do you suggest? Your our insider after all."

Zuko wipped his blade and stood up, he turned to look down at Sokka and frowned slightly

" there is no easy way in. After the last attack, security will be tighter, and they probably wont use the same hiding place as the last time. The only use I am to you is that I know my Father, I know he wont run away. When Aang faces him, he will most likely be confronted by not just my Father, but the strength of the Firenation itself, people will throw themselves in his path, just to protect what they believe is right. And there is Azula to worry about. As cunning as my father may be, he is not as ruthless as Azula. I think our main course of action… is perfecting ways to defend ourselves from the barrage of attacks we will most likely receive…"

Zuko turned to walk back to his room, and he was faced with Aang. He did not know how long he was standing there, but the boy looked tired.

"Zuko… I need to talk to you…"

* * *

_I hope you guys are enjoying this. I love to get feedback, and suggestions if yah have any idea's you think I should add in?_


	3. Just a bit of fun

Chapter 3

Zuko was staring into large bright grey eyes. Eyes that stared right back at his golden orbs. The boy had said he wanted to talk. But they had been sitting from over three minutes in silence.

Finally Zuko took a breath. Aang seemed to shift where he had sat mimicking him in taking a breath.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Aang's brow furrowed deeply, he looked away from Zuko to a wall and then out to the cliffs beyond the air temple.

"I don't really know, I just feel that something needs to be said. Zuko... Are you happy here?"

Zuko stared at the monk, he was not expecting that question, and it sort of threw him off guard.

"I guess so…"

"But?"

"Well, it's not like I expected it to be. While I traveled, I was always training, preparing, I had a strict discipline. But, everyone is so relaxed here; I get worried about how this will all end up…"

Aang heaved a sigh and brought his gaze back around to the fire prince

"I don't really know much about that kind of training. I mean, I have been fighting the Firenation for a while now, but before that, back in the air temple, I would just practice my airbending, and play games with monk Gyatso. We didn't have military, or anything like that, so I guess when it comes to planning for… for… well for what's to come, I am a bit new to it all."

Zuko blinked staring to the little monk before him

"But I learned in history, that my great grandfather had defeated your military, your saying that he attacked unarmed monks?"

Aang just nodded and watched as Zuko threw his hands in the air and flopped to the ground, bringing his hands to cover his face

"Why was I born from a family of such screw ups?"

Aang smiled a bit and then flopped back onto the ground also

"I was told before, that I had the power to determine my own destiny. I Guess I put a lot of hope into those words. I never wanted to be the avatar, when I was told; my friends stopped playing with me. And I was made to work really hard to master my element. But when I think back, I am glad for my past, it made me the person I am today. You're the same as me Zuko. You had a destiny picked out for you. You were pushed to train, so you could fulfill your mission. Yet lying here, you are no longer on the path that was chosen for you. Your past, and your ancestors, they do not hold sway over your future."

Zuko sat up to look at Aang as he continued talking, his face full of wonder as to how a child his age, could speak so profoundly

"I am the avatar; I have come to except that. And I know what role I need to play in restoring the world to balance. Yet like you. I want to be free to make my own path, and lead my own life. When people look at me, I don't want them to see the avatar. I would hope that they would see me as Aang. The Airbender. I have decided that though being the avatar is important. And though I do need to train and learn how to fight. I am not going to let destiny drive me. I am just going to be me. And let destiny play its part."

Zuko frowned hard, thinking on what the little monk had said, silence hung between them for a while, and eventually Zuko spoke up

"You're as confusing as my uncle"

Aang grinned and airbended himself to a stand.

"I am just saying. I think you should forget about the past, and learn how to be yourself Zuko, Have fun! You're to serious most of the time."

* * *

some time later...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

Katara who had been making her way back from the stream heard the screaming from a good distance away, and was now running back to the temple to see what was wrong. She saw Sokka, Haru and Teo looking out to the canyon. Toph was sitting against a pillar and The duke was whispering something to her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

Aang's glider shot past the opening in a blur of reds blues and yellows. It was not Aang that was screaming. Sokka gave a big thumbs up and Haru started cheering, while Teo was clapping hard. Momo ran up to Katara's shoulder and began pulling on her hair. She looked at the lemur who then tore off to stand by Appa.

The fire prince streaked by the audience again, this time being forced into a loop. Katara got a brief glimpse of his face this round, it looked like he was going to cry. Katara strode over to Appa and climbed onto his back. She took the reigns in hand and called out.

"Yip yip"

The ten ton bison took to the air, one deafening roar sending two of the boys spinning to see what was going on. The wind whipped through Katara's hair as she followed the pair flying through the sky. Zuko's knuckles were going white from his grip, but Aang was practically beaming as he cast a glance Katara's way.

"Aang!... What are you doing?"

The young Airbender tipped the glider to the side, much to Zuko's distress and he screamed all the louder for it.

"Hey Katara"

"Aang, why are you terrorizing Zuko?"

The boy laughed and then straightened out, Zuko's face was pressed to the glider and it looked like they would need a crowbar to remove him.

"I'm not; Zuko told me he had never flown like this before, so I said I would take him"

"Aang, I think you need to land"

The Airbender just frowned slightly and began his decent to the temple below. Toph grumbled and proclaimed to The duke.

"Trust Sugar queen to spoil the fun. Oh well, I guess this means we will have to find something else to amuse us now"

As the glider landed, Zuko fell to his knees, his hands hit hard to the ground and a tremble ran up his arms, the sweat was pumping from his face and he could barely raise his head to look up at Aang who had come to stand in front of him.

"Wasn't it fun?"

"How… how can you say that was fun! I thought I was going to die"

Appa landed with a great thud behind them and Katara came running over to the pair

"What were you thinking?! Aang you could have lost control! Zuko could have fallen! We need him in our group! You have to be more careful! And You!"

She rounded on Zuko who was trying to get his legs to work again, he was gripping the a pillar as Katara brought her wrath around to him

"You should have known better then to go gallivanting off the edge of the temple on a glider! You're meant to be the adult here!"

Zuko, who's head was spinning and stomach was churning, could not bring himself to even look at the girl, let alone reply to the sharp comments, but he didn't have to.

"Hey Lay off him Katara" Sokka interjected "He is as much a kid as the rest of us here. He's allowed to have a bit of fun"

"We don't have Time for fun!"

Sokka scoffed and waved his hand flippantly

"We have plenty of time for fun. You need to stop babying us like you're our mother"

"I am not acting like your mother!"

"As weird as this sounds, Snoozles is right Sugar queen, you are acting like everyone's mom, you need to relax"

Katara rounded on Toph this time and shouted

"How can I relax? You're acting like a Bunch of children! We have too much to do! And all you guys care about is having fun!"

"That's not all we care about Katara…"

This time it was Aang, his voice was soft, attempting to sound reasonable

"We know what we have to do, and I wouldn't do anything that I would think would put us into serious harm, but we all have to have a bit of fun sometimes"

Tears were brimming in Katara's eyes and she swallowed hard before turning away from them all.

"Fine. I am going to practice my bending. You can all go throw yourself of the building for all I care"

Se stormed off the way she had come.

Aang looked to the side and then to Sokka who just shrugged. Toph picked at her ear and Zuko straightened up.

"I think I should go apologize to her"

"You have nothing to apologize for Sparky, Sugar queen is just highly strung at the moment, gawd knows why"

Zuko felt his stomach heave again. The group had all gone very quiet. The silence lay heavy between them.

"I am still going to go and talk to her…"

"Oh well your funeral" Sai Toph nochalently

The fire prince moved off on wobbling legs, Aang let his gaze follow, but made no attempt to go with Zuko, perhaps if he talked to Katara, things might settle between them.


	4. Just not good enough

**Chapter 4**

The stream that led down to the fountain was a short distance from the steps, And Zuko's pace was not nearly as brisk as Katara's, so Zuko had anticipated find her in full training by the time he got to her, he even expected to be the brunt of a water whip. He might even have expected finding her taking her rage out on the nearby trees. What he found however, was not in any of his calculations.

Katara sat to the river bank, her knees hugged close to her chest and her head buried to them, she heard someone drawing closer, and in retaliation she only drew herself into a tighter ball and shouted a choked "go away", the footsteps hesitated, and she gave a shudder, trying to stop her tears, she hated this feeling in her, she truly hated it.

"Katara?"

She stiffened, the last person she had expected to come after her was Zuko, and she didn't want him anywhere near her. It was his fault she was feeling like this! His fault they were all turning against her! He was coming closer to her again and she squeezed her eyes shut to it, blanking out the world, him included.

Zuko sat next to the girl and looked out to the stream, the water sparkled under the evening sun, the ripples making it look as though precious stones were trapped to its surface, he sat in silence with her, just jetting her calm down and speak her mind when she was ready

Katara gritted her teeth, she knew he was beside her, and she knew why he was not saying anything, and it annoyed her further, he was doing that thing again, the understanding thing, and it was really pissing her off, why was he like this? Why did he feel the need to make everyone like him! She turned her head and glared at him, his unmarked profile was facing her, he did not turn to look at her, only kept looking out to the water, she furrowed her brow and followed his gaze, looking to the stream.

It was only after a few more minutes silence did she speak up.

"What do you want Zuko?"

The Once Fire prince let out a soft sigh.

"A lot of things. But right now, I want to sit here with you, and listen to you as you explain to me, why you are so angry"

"And why would I do that?"

Another sigh issued from the boy

"Because maybe, if I can understand what I am doing to upset you, perhaps I can do something to prevent it"

Katara whirled on him sitting upright with arms straight to the soil below her; it was infuriating how he thought he could just fix things! A little gesture would wipe away the past! It didn't work that way!

"No! There is Nothing you can do Zuko! You know why I am angry! It's because No one can see you for what you are! They weren't there when you betrayed me in that cave! They did not see the trust I had placed in you shatter! And now they side with you in a discussion! You want to help me! Then just go back to being the angry jerk from before! At least he I could understand! I knew where I stood with him!"

"But now?!" She flailed her hands in his direction causing the stream to slosh high on the back. "This new you! I don't know what to think, I can't trust myself to like you! But I can't tell people not to! Even after reading your Dairy"

"Journal"

"DAIRY" she spat the word at him and he put his hands up defensively "All I found myself thinking after that was, 'what if he gets offered more next time, what if he betrays us again!' I wont let myself be hurt like I was that time, and I wont let you put the others in danger"

Zuko looked at her and then back out to the unsettled water. He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to her outburst, in fact he was not sure if she wanted him to respond, but he made an attempt anyway.

"Katara, I know you don't trust me, and, I know that I have done nothing for you to earn any form of trust, but Aang trusts me because he gave me a chance to prove to myself. I am not asking you to like me, I just… well, maybe we can have a truce. I said some terrible things to you this morning, I did not mean to belittle your journey with Aang, I was just angry, and words came out before I could think on them. And for that I am sorry"

Once again she felt the rage she had been harboring ebb away, and it killed her to think of how easily Zuko could calm her down like this, she wanted to be angry at him, she wanted to hate him, but with him being so submissive, she was finding it near impossible

"I said some things I should not have as well…"

The silence between them drew out once more, the pair just looking out to the water, saying nothing. On Katara's part, she was thinking on how awkward she felt. Zuko? Well he was just content to sit there. After what could have been close to a quarter of an hour, Katara spoke up again.

"I don't like the person I become when I am angry; it was like this when Toph first joined the group. She was selfish, and never helped us out with anything really. We fought a lot. In the end, we found a compromise. But I don't see how I can do that with you… how can I compromise trust?"

She looked over to Zuko, who in turn frowned, she really wanted him to answer her, and he could not. At least not with an answer that benefited him.

"You can't Katara. I betrayed your trust, and I can not ask you to forget about that hurt, just to keep the peace in camp."

Again silence fell between the pair. It was growing heavier by the second. Once more Zuko tried to speak, though his words where barely audible above the bubbling water in the stream

"I never meant to hurt you like that Katara. If it helps… I will try to keep out of everyone's way. And during the attack… I won't go, that way; you won't have to worry about me possibly turning against you again…"

Katara left out a sigh of her own and frowned as well.

"That won't help anyone, as loath as I am to admit it Zuko, we are going to need your help when we invade the palace, you know the place better then any of us… but it scares me to think that we will ultimately be relying on you"

"Katara…"

Zuko stood up and looked down on her. There was a sad smile to his face, and his voice was as soft as before

"I think it is a good thing, that you don't trust me so much. It shows you are intelligent enough to learn from your mistakes. But sometimes, the past can blind us to our future. I can not erase what I have done; I can only atone for my crimes on you and your friends. But you, you are better then I am, you have committed no crime, yet you seem to be the one being punished. I won't ask you to forgive me, but I would ask that you don't let your hate for me make you bitter. You're too good for that. I promise you, that I will try not to infuriate you. But on the condition, that you tell me what I am doing that makes you angry… Please."

He reached a hand out to her, and she looked to it, slowly taking in his words, a truce, no fighting, it sounded easy, but she knew it wasn't. But, he was really trying to meet her halfway here, and she was being petty and she knew it. It was a struggle, but she raised her hand to take his. It felt warm around hers, and she felt just how strong he was as he pulled her to a stand.

"Thank you"

"This doesn't mean a thing Zuko, if you step out of line, I swear I… well… you better not step out of line"

He just nodded and turned back to the direction of the camp.

"I am hading back, I think it would be a good idea if you came with me, I think your right Katara, there is a lot that we need to do, and not a lot of time to do it in, I want to suggest something, but I want you to be there when I say it"

* * *

Katara was fuming, Zuko had agreed with her, and been down right civil, why was he making it so hard for her to hate him. There he was standing there, looking nervous, why did he have to look nervous, he was once the prince of the fire nation, he spoke out to armies, commanded servants everyday, yet here he was standing in front of them, looking nervous! Did he think it made him look cute?! Cause she didn't!

"Um hullo…everyone" Zuko was uneasy and shifted his weight from side to side "I um… the reason I asked everyone here is, well, I think that, even though I am training the avat… I mean Aang, I don't think it will be enough, I think…"

"Wait, why don't you think it will be enough? Do you know some secret plans from the Firenation? Have you been holding out on us?" This came from Sokka

"What? No, that's not what I meant, I"

"Cause if you have! I personally don't think I would be to happy about having you in our gang anymore"

"Sokka will you shut up for a second!" This from Katara

Zuko looked at her dumbfounded for a second

"Well are you going to continue Sparky? Or you just going to look at Sweetness for the rest of the night" Two guesses to who that was from

"Right well, what I mean is… Aang is strong. But, if he is worrying about the rest of us, he could get hurt…"

"Are you saying were not strong? Cause I distinctly remember beating you three times Zuko"

"Twice Katara and no that's not what I mean really it's just"

"Oh it was three times, or did you forget I had you pinned"

Zuko was back to staring at her and in fact turned to face her more then the others

"That didn't count! We were really fighting! I could have thrown you off anytime I wanted to"

"Oh really? So I guess you saying 'get off' repeatedly was my imagination" Katara smirked as Zuko looked totally bamboozled.

"Hang on, when did this happen?" Sokka again and now he was jabbing his boomerang to the air to accentuate his words, his eyes were locked onto Katara's

"Oh it was, just the other night, when I was reading Zuko's Dairy"

"It's a JOURNAL!"

"Wait, you were poking through Zuko's stuff Sweetness?" Toph looked up from picking her toes, her sightless eyes boring into Katara's head

"Well it wasn't really like that…"

"Admit it, you were Snooping" Toph was grinning and Katara stood up

"I was only thinking that if I could find something to prove Zuko was working for Azula, then you guys would believe me"

"Katara… you think Zuko was working for Azula?" this was coming from Aang.

"No not anymore, but I did, that's why…"

Zuko put a hand on Katara's shoulder, this made her go quiet, it was getting out of hand, and away from the reason Zuko had called them together in the first place

"Listen, it doesn't matter, Katara, you beat me three times, okay, you win, Sokka I was trying to get my journal back of your sister when she pinned me, nothing more, Aang, Katara mistook my journal for a secret mission, that's why she thought I was working for Azula, And Toph… your right she was snooping"

Katara let out a huff but sat back down, Zuko turned back to the group in general and cleared his throat

"I am not saying we are weak, all I am saying is, we are not ready for what we are going to face. Take Toph for instance? I burned her feet, by accident, what might have happened if I was really trying to hurt her?"

"I can take care of myself" Toph near growled

"No Toph, you're missing the point here, sure you can fight well, but, wouldn't it be better to train with what you will be going up against? From what I gather, you see with your feet, and you have really sharp hearing, but you don't seem to be sensitive to changes in heat. If I train with you, you will get used to the heat from my flames, and be able to judge Firebending attacks better from it"

The group was silent; they all stared at Zuko like he had ten heads, and just as he was getting to the point of wanting to break the silence, Sokka spoke up for him

"You know, I think you might be right Jerk face, but that's only Toph, the rest of us are fine"

Zuko glared at him and then shook his head

"No your not, the only one here capable of holding there own against a powerful firebender is Katara"

"What!?" This from Katara herself

"Back in Ba Sing Se, you fought against Azula, and you would have won if it weren't for me breaking your attack. I was fighting against Aang, and I was winning, even with all his advantage, I was coming out on top. Everyone here needs to work hard to get to the point you are already at Katara. Even I am not good enough to truly face my Father"

"What are you talking about Zuko" Katara did not know how to take his standing up for her like this "You said you faced your father already"

"I did, he shot lightening at me, and I redirected it back at him, I can not create my own lightening, and I still have a lot of things to improve, I think we should all start training together, and come up with a good plan for defending and attacking with each other… maybe even form a buddy system"

"Buddy system?" Aang was confused about the direction the conversation had taken, and was trying hard to keep up

"Yes, two people with fight as a team, using there skills to benefit each other, that way when one person is attacking the other can be watching their back, and vice versa."

"That's a really good idea" Sokka was standing up his hand resting to his chin as he walked up to Zuko, the Prince found the warriors arm slung of his shoulder, and Sokka then leaned into him in an almost conspiratory way

"We will have to pick the teams that work best together… So I will watch yah as your training, and then I will designate partners"

Zuko looked at him incredulously. Suddenly his idea was now Sokka's new project. He smiled wearily and then nodded

"Whatever you think works best Sokka"

* * *

_Bamboozled best word EVAH!_


	5. pairings and repairs

The Blind girl sent another lump of earth his way; she was being very disagreeable to his plan. Aang on the other hand seemed all for it. The pair were battling to get a hold of the earth bender, she would retreat below ground, and Aang would follow, she would reappear, and Zuko would try to grab her, and avoid getting hit with a rock.

Sokka was cheering from the sidelines, shouting out things like 'to the left! No the other left!' or she's right behind you hothead!' and just as Zuko was about to give up on this chase and resort to a Sokka beating, Aang got a hold of her back and Airbended her some feet of the ground. Zuko effectively catching the girl in the decent.

The reason for this?

* * *

A few minutes prior… 

"Just put the shoes on Toph"

"No! I can't see with them on! I don't want to!"

"But that's the point of this, you have to be able to use your other senses not just your feet" Zuko had implored

"I won't do it!"

"Get her!"

* * *

And thusly the chase began, but now with a good hold on the girl, she found a well padded pair of shoes put to her feet, Aang had called it Sweet revenge for his days of training with her, Zuko said it had nothing to do with getting back at people, and it was to do with training. Toph was now standing stock still, listening hard for any movement she could hear, and that when the noise started. Someone was banging on a drum, or pot, or something, she could not hear a thing over the din. 

Zuko came behind her as silently as he could muster, without vibrations to warn her, Toph looked very unsure of herself, her face was panicked and her arms reaching outwards, truly blind again. She started when Zuko whispered to her ear, telling her to feel his flames, and put them out with her bending.

Toph couldn't feel anything; the only thing she knew was darkness, and the ghost of Zuko's breath on her shoulder. The terror was showing on her face, and Aang shifted where he stood, Both Zuko and he were creating flames, moving them slowly around Toph. Aang looked to Zuko waiting to catch his eye…

"Zuko, I don't think this is a good idea anymore… maybe we should stop this…"

Zuko stared at the Airbender and shook his head slowly; he raised a hand to Haru to tell him to stop beating the pot. This done he signaled to Sokka. It was a Cue for Sokka to throw his boomerang near Toph, she was meant to knock it out of the air. It soared past her and she stumbled forward with a slight scream.

"Zuko!" Aang began but the Prince spoke over him

"Did you hear where that came from?"

"No" Toph replied, steadying herself

"The Firenation have skilled archers, with Arrows that travel ten times the speed of that Boomerang, you need to be able to discern minute sounds over loud ones, and you need to learn to feel where the fire is, Can you feel the fire?"

"No!" The girl was getting Annoyed, and Aang shifted uncomfortably and Zuko began moving the flame closer to Toph.

"Can you feel it now?"

"Not really"

Closer

"Now?"

Toph turned towards the direction the flame was in

"How about now?"

As it drew closer again, only about 3 feet from Toph, she raised earth to snuff it out.

"There I put out your stupid fire!"

Zuko frowned

"You did, but it was very close to you… we need to work on this to build up your sensitivity" He nodded to Sokka again and the other boy complied "Listen for the boomerang and knock it out of the air"

Once more the boomerang passed right by her before she made a late attempt to hit it.

"Again"

* * *

The training went on like this for a few hours, and by the end of the first session the girl had developed a fair amount. She was snuffing fire out from six feet away and actually knocked the boomerang out once, much to Sokka's great worry, as he ran to retrieve it and cradled it like a child. Haru began the pounding again as Aang and Zuko both made to spar with the girl, in the confusion, Zuko received a dislocated shoulder, and Aang barely escaped a broken nose. But all in all, it was a good training session. For the first one anyway.

Right now the boys were sitting around the fire, Zuko was nursing his shoulder, and Aang was playing with Momo. Sokka was bending the Ear of the prince

"I don't see why I can't just… throw a stone or something, I know I know, you said its her element and all, but she can bend metal too so in a way, she can sense weapons right, so stones are just as good."

Zuko just looked at him disparagingly

"Why does it have to be my Boomerang, she could seriously damage my poor baby, I don't think you realize what this means to me"

"More then your friend being safe?"

The words hung in a dead silence, Sokka just sighed and shook his head, and Aang frowned slightly

"Zuko… I know you are doing this for the best… and I know what you are saying is sound… but, there is such a thing as being overly driven… if we push ourselves too hard, we will be burnt out before we even get to see the firelord…"

"If we don't push ourselves however, we will simply be burnt by my Father"

Zuko stood and walked away from the pair, not intending to wait for dinner, but the little earthbended had other ideas. A wall erected in from of the Prince and he whorled about to look at Toph

"You running away Sparky?"

"I don't run away" Zuko replied calmly

"Funny, feels like it's that way to me, seems to me we have an issue here. You don't understand the way this group works. We train, yeah, but we don't let it take over our lives. You need to learn to relax, before your fuse burns out, we don't was to see an exploding Fire prince, Combustion man was bad enough for a lifetime"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the older boys face, Aang and Sokka looked at the interaction from a nice safe distance, Haru and Katara stood off to one side, having just returned from retrieving the meat that Sokka and Zuko had provided. The air seemed to hang with a heavy tension, one broken by Zuko's words

"Then what do you suggest?"

Toph cracked her shoulders and pointed towards him.

"You and me! That's how we will fight, not sissy training, I want you to fight me properly, but no shoes. I get the principle of what your saying to me, and I will use it, but what's the good of it if I am standing still, I will train with you, but only if it's a real sparring bout, that way it will be fun for me too"

"Alright" Zuko replied simply.

"After that, I will do that Buddy thing with Aang"

"What?" Aang looked over from the fire; he thought he had heard Toph saying she wanted to pair off with him.

"What's the matter twinkletoes afraid you won't be able to keep up?"

Sokka Looked at Aang and then at Katara, then he looked to Toph.

"I dunno Toph, I think Aang might work better with my sister, after all they have fought well together before… And you would work well with Haru."

"I thought…" Toph said haughtily "that the whole point of this system was defense and attack right? Well, maybe it's just me, but I was under the impression that mixing elements would work better for confusing the enemy"

Sokka sat with his mouth open for a moment, but then pointed to Zuko

"Then fight with Sparky"

"No I am fighting with Aang"

"Why not Zuko?" This from the Airbender

"He's too tall for me"

No really denying that but…

"Then you don't suggest that I fight with…." This was from Katara and she was looking at Toph with a furrowed brow

"You and Zuko are similar heights, and Haru would work best with Sokka, Teo and The Duke should try and think of developing a weapon that can take down the airships"

"I am meant to be doing the team pairings! That's my job!"

"Whatever you say Snoozles, but I am fighting with Aang"

Zuko was looking at the small girl also, not that he was bothered by her decided pairings but…

"Why Katara and I? And not Haru and Katara?"

Toph developed a smug grin and stretched interlaced fingers out in front of her

"Can you make a defense for Sokka? Flames are not very good at that, and if Katara was fighting with Sokka he would be too concerned for his sisters safety to do anything right, so they are the only pairings that make any sense. What's the matter Sparky? You afraid our sugar queen might drown you?"

Zuko looked apprehensively to Katara; she looked back at him, with annoyance written all over her face. Toph was right, the grouping was the best, and as loath as she was to face this, it would be best for her to pair up with Zuko…

"Fine by me, at least this way, I can keep a closer eye on you"

Zuko's frown grew slightly, but he nodded and turned away as though to return to his room. But as he stepped away from the first wall that had been erected, a new one sprang up in front of him, he again turned to Toph, but this time he barked at her

"What now!?"

Toph was still smiling

"It's dinner time Sparky, Don't you think its time you actually acted like part of this group. If you are going to fight with us, you could at least socialize with us first. You're eating dinner"

One deep breath later and Zuko found himself marching over to the fire to rejoin Sokka and Aang, Sokka made a whip motion with his hand, and Zuko punched him square in the shoulder, regretting it instantly as his own shoulder made a sickening popping noise, evidently the bone was not settled into the socket of his shoulder yet. He clung to his injury as Haru placed the meat to the other side of the fire on a straw mat.

Katara was setting up her cooking pot, but noticed the reaction too; she decidedly looked away from him and began preparing the dinner for the group.

Nothing eventful happened during dinner, but Momo made a new friend, as Zuko seemed to enjoy feeding the animal.

* * *

The moon was high in the sky, and Zuko was drifting in and out of sleep, he thought he kept hearing something outside his door, but whenever he stilled his breathing to listen for whatever it was, it would be gone. 

Katara was standing outside Zuko's door; she was ringing out a cloth in her hands as she was trying to make her decision on whether to go in or not. She could hear his shallow breathing, she knew he was awake, but every so often his breathing would stop, and so would hers, for a heartbeat she would just listen, hoping that the hammering in her chest was not as loud as it seemed.

She remained there for what felt like hours, where in reality it was only a few minutes, she decided she was going to enter, she raised her hand in a motion to knock upon the door, but as her fingers came to there decent, she found the wood pulling away from her.

Zuko stood from his bed and stole over to the door, he was a light walker, no surprises there really, but he was also feeling a little paranoid, he reached for the door and drew it back towards him, he did not expect to see some one outside, much less Katara with her hand raised.

For a few heartbeats they only stared at each other. Neither speaking a word, and then Zuko turned his back on her and strode over to his bed, sitting to it before looking at her again. Katara took this as an invitation and sat beside him.

Not a word was spoken between the pair, nothing was said as Katara prodded his shoulder to see where it hurt, nor did the prince speak after he gritted his teeth in pain to her investigations.

They just sat in silence as Katara bended her water into glowing gloves, gloves that then spread over Zuko's shoulder, the relief was almost instant, and Zuko had never felt anything like this before, his eyes widened as the girl worked upon him. She did not make eye contact at all. Only sat there looking at the work she was doing.

After a minute or so, she brought the water back to the skin placed near her hip. Only then did she look at Zuko, and only then did she see the wonder that had filled his expression.

"Your… that was amazing…"

Whispered words from the princes mouth, as though saying them to loud would wake him from a dream he was surely having…

"I will check it tomorrow… if you need another session then…"

She found her hand gripped by his and she felt an involuntary color spring on her cheeks

"Thank you Katara."

The girl turned away and shook her head.

"You're no good to us if you're hurt, I was only doing what I would have done for anyone, there is no need to make a big deal out of it"

Zuko just smiled and let go of her hand

"I am still thankful none the less"

Katara stole a glance to him again before taking a breath and leaving the room. Why did he have to be so grateful? She was finding herself more and more confused by him, and it was getting harder to hold a grudge.

* * *

_Don't be afriad to review I dont bite... often XDDD_

* * *


	6. A good Day

_So here we are again XDDD hope you enjoy_

* * *

Katara had awoken late that morning, her mind was unsettled and her sleep had been less then pleasant, twice she woke up with images of smiling golden eyes, Twice she cursed herself for even thinking about him in her dreams. And twice she hated that thinking back on her dream, she ended up smiling.

Zuko was a torment to her. Not because he was unpleasant, but because of his agreeable nature all of a sudden. If asked right now which she would prefer, Zuko chasing them, or Zuko being Nice to them, she would choose the latter.

Why?

Because an angry Zuko was a Zuko Katara was comfortable around. She liked being on edge around him. And she was trying to come up with reasons to justify her anger, but it was getting harder and harder. Last night should have been a simple healing, nothing more. But his reaction to her, the almost shocked look on his face, the compliments, but mostly the trust. Zuko trusted her. She knew that right from the moment she lay a hand on him, she felt the swelling and knew he must be in pain, yet he sat there in silence and let her poke and prod him.

It was infuriating!

She was walking around aimlessly when she came upon Aang and Toph talking. She began to make her way over in that direction, but words halted her.

"I dunno twinkletoes. I think he needs this as much as I do"

"But Toph, Fire is really dangerous; practice is practice, but an all out fight?"

"You saying I can't take him?"

"He is really strong"

"And I am not?"

"No no, that's not what I mean… I just don't want you to get hurt"

"Or Zuko"

"I know you won't hurt Zuko…"

"But he might hurt me?"

"Not intentionally… but… Zuko is… he seemed distracted this morning…"

Katara held her breath without thinking, Zuko was distracted? Why did she think it had anything to do with her? And why was she not going to join in the conversation

"Aang. Sparky needs to learn how to relax around here, and I am going to show him how to, I wont be taking it easy on him, so you don't have to worry about me, Besides, I am sure Sugar queen will help us out, Right?"

The last bit of the conversation was directed at Katara, and Aang turned around to look at her, a blush hit his cheeks as soon as eyes met, but there was something else written on his face that Katara could not read. The waterbender frowned and then walked over to the pair.

"I will heal yes, but Aang is right, I am not sure this is a good idea. You really hurt Zuko last night… and he might be angry about that…"

"Katara, I don't think Zuko is angry, but he did seem distant today… he kept… smiling and looking out to the sunrise"

Katara frowned and fixed her dress about her

"Well, maybe we should ask him if he wants this fight or not, and let him decide…"

"That's what I said, but Toph is insistent on fighting with him"

"Hey don't talk about me like I am not here, Blind, not invisible you know"

"I know Toph, but, I am just worried about…"

"Look!" Toph stood and pointed a finger at Aang " You can worry all you want, but this is the first time anyone has excepted to fighting me seriously in a long time, and I am not about to pass this up. So you can take you worrying and stick it in your ear, cause I am not listening!"

The girl stormed away leaving Katara and Aang looking to her retreating back. Aang broke the silence with a sigh. And Katara patted his leg softly.

"It's okay Aang; she just doesn't see that you care for her that's all"

Aang nodded and stood as well

"I am going to try and talk to Zuko, try and see what's wrong with him; you want to come along Katara? I mean your better at this kinda thing then I am"

Talking to Zuko was not something she had planned on doing today, but a few minutes later and she found herself walking to the river bank where the prince was sitting.

* * *

Zuko woke that morning from a relaxed sleep. His shoulder was numb but the pain was tolerable enough, he was to practice this morning with Aang, but before he got ready to do so, he went to his uncle's picture and touched a hand to it

"I hope you are well Uncle, do you know what day it is today? I think this will be a good day today. The first time I can remember just looking forward to just having this day with friends, no fuss and no empty feelings, but I don't think I will tell anyone. I will just keep it to myself."

Zuko smiled and began changing into his clothing. He left his arms bare today, just opting for the tunic. It was warm and with training, it would help to keep somewhat cool. Leaving his room he met with Sokka, who was dragging some kind of bird behind him.

"What is that?"

"It's a… well… its dinner"

Zuko bent down and poked the animal, nothing happened, not that he expected it too, he then looked back at Sokka.

"Where did you find it?

"It was at the river when I was washing… I think it's edible…"

"Possibly… I have never seen anything like it before"

"Me either, but then again, Half the things I eat I had never seen before, south pole doesn't have a lot of variety"

Zuko stood and lent to the wall

"You must miss home"

"Yeah well I do sometimes, but then again, I do love variety"

Zuko smiled and Sokka seemed taken bake suddenly

"Wait… how come you are mister sunshine all of a sudden?"

Zuko just smiled some more and shrugged

"It's a new day Sokka"

Sokka watched as the fire prince made his way towards the training grounds. A torrent of thought whirling about his mind, Haru came up beside him and gave a questioning look to the 'bird'

"What is that?"

Sokka frowned and stroked his chin and then looked at Haru

"A kind of meat I am thinking… more importantly… What has Prince Jerk face so happy… something is amiss Haru"

The young earthbender blinked, he was at a loss for words, but Sokka had words enough for him, the worst kind.

"Let go snooping"

* * *

Training with Aang had been calming. Zuko was trying to showing him one advanced set, but also working on the basics. But the sun was warm on his face and he found himself looking out to the rising sun and smiling. His mothers words ringing in his ears from a time long past

"_You see that Zuko?"_

"_It's just the sun rising mother"_

"_Yes, but on this day, the warmth of the sun, and the light it provides, are sent to you, and when it sleeps, the moon will smile upon you and bid you a sweet slumber."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes my little munchkin, so on this day, when the sun and moon smile at you, you should smile back"_

'zuko… Zuko… Zuko!"

'Huh?"

Zuko turned around to look at Aang, it seemed the airbender had been trying to get his attention for a while, but he had been lost in thought so he had missed everything that had been said.

"Sorry what?"

"I asked if I did it right…"

"Oh… oh… yes... fine, it was fine… Why don't we… take a break for today? Sokka brought back a bird for dinner, so I guess I could help by finding something for you to eat, you don't eat meat do you?"

"Well no… but…"

"Alright I will go find something… Momo can come with me, keep me company, and you… maybe you could find a nice place for Toph and I to spar tonight?"

"I think Toph might have an idea of somewhere already…"

Zuko turned to him and smiled softly, Aang did not really know what to make of this so he just smiled back.

"Great, then why don't you and Toph go and take a look at it, and you can tell me what you think when I get back?"

Aang was the second person to watch Zuko with a confused suspicion as he walked away from him. Not that the Avatar thought Zuko was planning something, but there was definitely something not right about how he was acting.

* * *

Zuko was situated under a tree, beside him where two roots vegetables that looked somewhat like Turnip but a bit longer in the root. He had taken a small bite of one, as had Momo and so far they both seemed to be fine. No itching, no swelling, no stomach complaints. He had also found a nice supply of berries, one of which he popped into his mouth.

Momo was sitting on his lap, enjoying the attention he was getting; the prince would occasionally stop petting him to give him another berry, and then resume the petting. Life was good for the lemur.

An hour or so like this and the prince had fallen asleep, the heat of the sun providing a warm blanket, yet the shade of the tree, keeping them from being uncomfortable. Momo had curled up on his chest and was snoozing lightly upon it.

And that was how Katara found them, Aang had told her that Zuko went looking for food for him, and that they should spilt up to look for him. She was meant to bring them back to camp when she found Zuko, but looking at the pair of them sleeping, she didn't want to wake them up.

She sat down beside them and peered into the bag he had with him, not a lot of berries where left and she smiled thinking Momo might have had a lot to do with that, and the Camots where a good size (the turnip things) he had collected a few herbs also, and Katara found herself looking back to him.

She did not expect to see golden eyes looking back at her, and certainly did not expect to see him smiling… her eyes went a bit wide and she straightened up a bit

"I was just"

"Good morning to you too Katara"

Zuko's voice was soft as he said this and that made Katara a bit uneasy.

"Aang was looking for you"

Zuko just nodded and poked the lemur

"Come one buddy, we have to get going" One green eye regarded him and then closed again, though undeterred Zuko raised him from his chest and settled him in his arm. Picking up his bag he then smiled at Katara again. "Do you want to take me to him Katara?"

"Stop that"

"What?"

"Saying my name"

"What?" This sounding rather confused

"It's… Annoying, and uncomfortable… and… just… stop saying it"

"O…Kay… then what should I say instead…" His smile had lessened a bit as he was looking at the girl, but he was still in a good humor, Katara frowned and the waved her hands

"I don't know, call me peasant, or Girl, or something"

"You want me to call you peasant?"

"Yes, yes it is better then using my name"

Zuko frowned a bit but then nodded

"Alright Peasant, but if I cant use your name, then you can't use mine"

"What!"

This reaction brought the smile back to Zuko's lips and he shrugged

"Hey it's only fair… Beside, now that I think about it, since you are after all a lowly peasant, you should be regarding me as highness or prince or"

"Stuck up Snotty Arrogant Urgh! You think you so great! You think that the world revolves around you! You're nothing But a… a... Snob!"

"Snob! Perfect!"

"What?" it was Katara's turn to look Confused.

"Well if I am to call you peasant, then you call me Snob, deal?"

"That's not how this works Zu" Katara found her words halted with his finger placed to her lips, and the smile he was giving her made her cheek redden slightly

"I am going to do what you tell me Katara, but there has to be a little give and take, if I am doing something to annoy you, then I will stop. But it's only fair that you should do something for me too"

Katara's brow furrowed a bit, and when she spoke, her words where quiet, almost a whisper.

"And just how is my calling you a snob, doing something for you?"

Zuko just smiled and raised the bag over his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter, it's just what I want, Okay Peasant, lead the way"

* * *

Katara was leading Zuko back to the camp, and even though he was doing what she asked, he was not… doing it right, he was calling her peasant like a pet name, and it almost sounded endearing. Though she could not just tell him to stop saying it nicely, that was taking things a bit too far.

Aang came back into camp about half an hour after Katara, and smiled to her as soon as he seen her, she gave a weak smile in return and then inclined her head towards zuko, who was playing with Momo at the fountain.

"Don't get me wrong Aang… I mean its not like I am mad at him being happy or anything… but… I don't get this change of attitude"

Aang had to agree, a happy Zuko was just…well, creepy, He made his way aver to the Prince and sat down beside him, Zuko looked at him and just smiled again.

"You were looking for me?"

"Yeah… it's about this fight with Toph…. I don't know if…well you don't seem yourself today Zuko, maybe it would be a good idea if we held off the fight"

Zuko lay back and looked up at the temple ceiling, he said nothing for a moment, letting the silence draw out, but when he did speak, it was light and unworried.

"I am actually looking forward to it. It will be nice to let go for a change. No offence Aang, but its not easy having to drill the basics over and over, a bit mind numbing"

"Is that what has you in such a good humor?" this was from Katara, Zuko just let his gaze drift over to her before answering.

"Something like that… it's just, a good day, that's all"

They pushed no further on the matter and Zuko said anything more. It was about that time that Sokka came barreling over.

"Okay! So I spoke to the Duke who spoke to Teo who said that we were wasting his time and to go to Toph who said that I should not be snooping into other peoples business but told us that Katara had been to your room last night! What did you do to my little sister that put you in such a good mood?!"

"Sokka!!!"

Katara strode over to her brother fit to kill him, Aang was looking at Katara wide eyed and Zuko just raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't do anything; she healed my shoulder, that's all"

"I wouldn't do anything with Zu… That Snob!" Zuko smiled a bit as she said that "How could you think of such a thing!"

"Well, he was all smiley and floaty, and Toph just said that was the only thing she felt last night… and he was all defensive of you before…"

"That doesn't mean anything! Sometimes you're such an idiot!"

Katara stormed off leaving the three of them alone, Zuko looked to Sokka and shrugged

"So you figured out what the meat is yet?"

* * *

_I write this Haiku_

_If only to ask of you_

_Please won't you review?_

* * *

_Genesisgoboom_

_A name that I have taken_

_Artist and writer._

_XDDD Haiku writing is Fun!!_

_but seriously Please review _


	7. Realisation and denial Fighto!

_This came out longer then I ecpected it too, I really hope you guys are enjoying it!! And and and!! I will dedicate the next chapter to anyone who can guess correctly what Zuko's special day is!! I know lame and all just getting a dedication... but heh its all I can really offer right?_

_anyways, on with the show! and Reviews are ALWAYS welcome_

--

The meat remained a mystery, but Aang was grateful for the Camots, Katara did not return to them for the rest of the day, and Zuko made a point of pulling Sokka aside and telling him that he should apologize, this did not go down to well, Sokka downright refused saying that he had no reason to apologize and if Katara could not take an accusation like that in her stride then there must be some truth in it, and she was in fact the one at fault for hiding this from the group. Zuko had actually gotten rather annoyed over this and was about to start shouting at the boy before he realized it had nothing to do with him, Sokka could think what he wanted of his sister, who was he to argue about it. Though it did wind up with Zuko pacing away from them pinching the bridge of his nose, He was determined not to loose his temper today, but Sokka had a way of pushing his buttons. Even if he did not know why.

Footsteps fell short then as a person barred his path, Zuko looked down to an unmoving Toph, he tried to step by her, but suddenly there was a hunch of rock blocking him, a sigh issued past his lips and he then replaced the newly formed frown with a smile.

"You know… this is not the only way to get my attention…"

Toph smirked and crossed her arms over her chest "I know, but this seems to be the most effective, Anyways Sparky. You're going the wrong way Katara is down that way"

The frown re-appeared "I was not planning to go to her" He turned to walk in the other direction but once more it was blocked.

"Yeah, but now you are"

Zuko turned to Toph and huffed a bit of steam out of his nose

"Now now Sparky, keep it for later, you can get your payback in the ring, right now you have a mission, Good luck with that"

Toph slapped his back with more force then he was ready for and he found himself stumbling in the direction she was sending him, he straightened, glared at her, realized it was lost on her as she was blind, and then began to press forward… of all the days… it was strange to be consoling the waterbender on this day…

He was sitting up on a balcony her legs hanging over the edge with a handful of pebbles beside her, she was absently chucking them out over the edge, just watching them as they fell till she could not see them anymore, Zuko hopped up on the edge beside her and let his legs flip over to swing as her did.

Katara looked at him and then promptly looked back out to the ravine, there was silence for a good while, and Katara silently fumed, still more silence, her fuming died to curiosity… silence still and curiosity lead to desire for sound, for him to say anything, with him just sitting there, it was unnerving, comfortable but unnervingly so…

"What do you want?"

Zuko seemed to snap out of a daze, he turned his golden eyes to look to hers and there was that small smile on his lips again, the smile that once more brought a slight heat up to her cheeks, and Katara found she was inwardly cursing herself for being unable to hide it. Yet Zuko did not seem to notice, and if he did, he made not issue of it, instead he almost whispered to her…

"I am not really sure myself…"

Her heart skipped a beat and she could not reason why, well she could reason why, but she was now utterly in denial, she was not going to admit why that happened to herself, she was not going to think of just how close his voice sounded, or how it sent a shiver over her skin to hear him speaking in a whisper, as though he was saying something private meant to be heard only by her… perhaps she might have read to much into his words had he not went on with them

"Toph sent me to look for you… I think she is worried about you, I am sorry Sokka got the wrong impression, but I meant every word I said about you the other night, I have never met anyone like you, I mean, Azula is strong yes, but she has been training for years with many different masters, and I struggled under the same training as she did… I suppose when I think about it, I really should be jealous of you. When we first met, you could hardly get the water to move how you wanted it to, and now… now it is almost like it is part of you and as much as I know I should be envious and annoyed about that… I just don't find it in me… Weird isn't it? And above all that, you seem so unaware of how amazing you really are, I mean you can fight better then mostly all the Firenation, and you can heal other peoples wounds, but even beyond that, you have this… this ability in you, you just seem to radiate kindness. I mean, I know you don't really like me, but you still used your gift to help me, that's really special. Sokka is really lucky to have you as a sister…"

Katara was listening to him with a slow sense of astonishment, she was in shock that he was saying all this, and a little lost for words, and as he finished his words he ended with a bright laugh, she jumped slightly and he waved his hand a bit before he regained his words.

"I just realized why I get annoyed at Sokka so easily, its not you I am jealous of, it's him"

Zuko chose that moment to swing him self around on the low wall, he lent back a small bit to look her in the eyes once again, and his smile was brighter than she had ever seen it before

"Don't let him get to you Kat… err Peasant, in fact, I think it would be best if you played up to it, I think it would be a perfect payback"

Katara actually smiled when he corrected himself, it was weird, but he really cheered her up, he pushed forward then and made to leave, at that point Katara turned around and looked to his receding back, she was confused (not the first one that day) but now she wanted an answer

"Zuko, Why are you-"

Zuko had turned to face her but had a hand held up, he then straightened his tunic and held his nose aloft, this got a giggle out of Katara and she then just rolled her hand off to the side

"Okay okay, Oh your Snobbiness, Why are you telling me this? I mean… you have been a bit weird all day, like you know something we don't."

Zuko smiled and nodded "your right, I dooo know something you don't, and for now, I think I will keep it that way, Fair well Peasant, I have things I have to attend to… namely the site Toph chose… what's the odds that she has me at a terrible disadvantage?"

Katara was moving towards him, she vaguely wondered as to when she had turned, let alone stood up, as she came to his level she smiled once more, but it was a weary smile, Zuko was holding back on something, but as much as she might have the last week, this week she was not suspicious.

"I don't know, there is a lot of great earthbending places in here, I mean, you can call fire to you anytime, for Toph and me, we need to have something near us, I think it is more evening the odds, besides, I would be more concerned about her sending you to me, Maybe she thought I would soften you up for her"

Zuko laughed and shook his head, and Katara was slowly getting used to the sound.

"I don't think it is that, I mean, I guess I am the most neutral here, Aang would obviously take your side in things, Toph tends to do things by force, and I doubt that works on you"

"Works on you though" Katara interjected

"Yes, surprisingly so, Anyway I just think she saw me as the most harmless…"

"What about Haru? He is pretty harmless?"

"Well… that's true…"

"And Teo is a great listener"

"I am a good Listener!"

" I did not say you weren't, I am just saying that you were not necessarily the only choice Anyway, Thank you Snobby, I should go get dinner started…"

Zuko stopped remembering a thought he had the day before.

"Yes about dinner."

"What about dinner?! Are you trying to imply that I am not a good cook?"

"No no it's not-"

"Because I will have you know that No-one has complained before and I don't think you are in a position-"

Zuko gripped her hand and pulled her attention to him, once again she felt that heat flair over her cheeks and once more Zuko did not seem to notice

"That is not what I am saying, I just don't think it's fair that you are the only one to cook here, I want to help you."

"You can cook!?"

"Well, no… but I can help you…"

Katara stared at him wide eyed and it took a moment for her to realize he was still holding her hand, there a dilemma cropped in her mind; did she whip her hand away? Or did she tell him to remove his hand? In the end she opted for pulling away slowly and then shaking her head

"Well…. Alright, but you have to do everything I say"

--

Dinner was going to wait. When the returned to the fountain area, together as Sokka pointed out much to Katara's annoyance, Toph declared it time to fight, Katara began protesting about them having to have dinner first, and how Aang had not had any training from her yet. Toph was unmoved by this and merely picked a chunk of wax from her ear

" Yeah whatever sugar Queen, I am not about to eat before I fight, I don't wanna cramp, and Aang can do his training afterwards, its not like he will be tired, its me and Sparky fighting , not you and twinkletoes, so the sooner we start, the sooner I get to kick his Firenation butt and eat dinner"

Zuko didn't say anything, he just turned and left to go to his room, the group watched him leave, and a few moments later return with his twin swords in hand, this got Sokka pointing wildly at him

"I knew it!! You ARE going to Cheat!! Swords!! That's not firebending!! That's Sword fighting!!"

Zuko shrugged a bit and turned to Toph

"You wanted a serious fight right? Do you have a problem with me using my swords?"

"Nope"

"Alright then"

"You can't be serious" This was from Katara and she just looked between the pair who answered in tandem

"We sure are"

"We certainly are"

--

The hollow appeared to be part of a true cave, complete with stalagmites and stalactites, Zuko was silently looking around as though taking in the surrounding, and Toph was crunching her feet into the ground with Aang standing beside her.

"Toph are you sure this is okay? I mean. He really does seem serious about this; he has his swords and everything"

"Yeah, metal Swords, heh I can take him out without breaking a sweat, no worries Twinkletoes" She then pointed a finer towards Zuko and exclaimed "Get Ready Sparky! It's time to face the Blind bandit!"

"YEAH!!" Sokka exclaimed this before he could stop himself, the rush of the earth rumble springing back through his veins

Zuko just looked over his shoulder to her and then smirked slightly

"Blind Bandit is it? Okay Dusty" The group mouthed 'Dusty' with slight giggles "If that's how we are going to play this, Say hallo to the Blue Spirit"

Zuko unsheathed his double swords with a flair and Sokka pointed to him with his mouth gawping, he had seen wanted posters for the blue spirit about the place for a while now, and in a way he thought it was cool, like some hero or something, he heard tales of how the spirit took down benders without bending himself, he would never had thought it would have been Jerk face, Beside him Katara was making a similar expression, and Aang was the only one who did not seem surprised.

"Guys I already told you Zuko saved me from Zhao"

"Yeah, but you never said he was a masked superhero at the time" Sokka seemed a bit red in the face as he said that and he turned then as Katara huffed beside him "What!"

"A mask doesn't make a hero Sokka…"

"So you're saying that we should have known it was him anyway, that Aang saying Zuko saving him must have obviously meant he was the Blue spirit?"

"No, I am just saying you are over reacting like you always do, I mean I was the painted lady, the costume did not give me super powers, it just hid my identity"

"That's not the same! The blue spirit was Cool!"

"Sokka!!"

"Ugh Guys, trying to have a fight here" Toph and Zuko were both looking towards them, though Zuko's eyes had gone a little wide and he was staring at Katara, he had no Idea she was the painted lady, but he had heard about her exploits in that village, and is suddenly made a lot of sense, and he could not help but smile to her.

It was Sokka that noticed the Red this time, and he glared daggers at Zuko for a moment, but then his face softened, He was far from stupid, and something clicked with him, Zuko did not know, he had no idea, it was just like with Katara and Aang, it was obvious how much Aang liked her, but Katara did not see it… but that meant that Katara… Sokka looked at his sister for a moment and then back to the fire prince, a knot of worry spread in his chest. This could not be good.

Zuko and Toph faced each other, and neither did anything, Zuko was formulating a strategy, and Toph, well she was trying to find Zuko, as he was not moving a muscle, the wait went on for a full 30 seconds before Toph raised a wall in front of her and flung it forward, it had the desired effect Zuko moved, she could see him not as he Jumped and broke the wall with a burst of flame, when he landed she sent a short pillar out to catch him, but it was then she realized how agile he really was, his feet barely touched the ground before he was back flipping away from her pillar, and she made a note that he was almost as light footed as Twinkletoes, a dozen more pillars shot up and she had not hit him once, she sent up another twenty all at the same time and to her surprise he griped to the edge of one and hoisted himself atop of it.

She began to shot rocks at him as he balanced to the top of the pillars she had sent up, but he hopped from one to the other, he did not miss a step at all, Toph was finding herself impressed by his ability to avoid her attacks, and not just avoid them, he was shattering them and holding his ground a lot of the time, he was like a good mix of airbender and earthbender, knowing when to hold his ground and when to avoid an attack. It was almost like he was attuned to all the elements. And that was a curious thought.

She tilted her head and looked in his direction, but that was when she felt the heat coming her way, Zuko from his vantage point began to send a mass of fireballs down at the girl, she backpedaled away from them and sent walls of dirt to snuff them out, but this is where things became confusing for her, as she could not longer see Zuko.

Katara watched as Zuko began to slice through the pillars and the stalactites around him, She tried to ignore the fact that she could see the sweat glisten on his arms, or how flexible he was to be able to pull of those moves, to aid in this she brought her attention to his swords, his blades were a blur of motion still sending out waves of fire towards Toph, the girl now seemed to be searching around, as though looking for something, her eyes were squeezed closed and her arms constantly moving.

Katara looked up again and held in a gasp, Zuko was on the roof of the Cave literally scaling along it, One arm gripping to the niches that he was finding while the other was sending out a blast of fire to Toph every so often and then to a few pillars, knocking them into each other, he was also slicing at the natural structures about him making them fall, the sound of earth falling was horrendous, but the vibrations could be felt even by Katara, and that was when it clicked with her, Zuko was providing a camouflage for himself.

Toph could not hear him because of the noise, and she could not see him with the falling rock causing the disturbance, and what was more, his insistence barrage was keeping her to busy to be able to concentrate, it was a pretty genius strategy, and just as he was right above Toph, Katara had to restrain herself from calling out, He leapt from the roof and sliced out at a point of rock jutting out from the ceiling above, it began to hurtle down towards Toph just as Zuko did, Toph reached her hands up, and for a fleeting moment Katara thought that she had seen him, but as Toph hurled the rock away from her, Zuko dropped behind her and crossed his double blades over her Neck. The blind girl was gasping for breath, and so was the fire prince. He had never had to work so hard in a fight since he had fought against Katara in Ba Sing Se, but the triumph was clear on his face, and the shock was evident on Toph's

"I could not see you"

Zuko leant into her, removing his swords as he did so, he then whispered to her ear softly "maybe next time you will then?"

The small girl went red and snapped her head around and pushed him away with a bit too much force and he fell flat on his back. Zuko held to his ribs and laughed fully before flopping his arms out to the side of him, he was breathing pretty heavily and his hair was sticking to his brow, Sokka was the first one to stand over him, the smile on the boys face was enormous.

"That was COOL!" Zuko seemed to have gained a new found coolness status with Sokka, and Aang and the others came to crouch beside him, all nodding enthusiastically, Zuko turned his head a bit to the side, just enough to see Katara standing off a bit, her arms were crossed and she looked a bit haughty, but he only grinned at her

"Well, what did _you_ think?"

Katara frowned and stepped in closer to him "Not bad I suppose, for a Snob"

Zuko grinned and chuckled a bit "Well I am honored to have such praise from a lowly peasant like you" Aang, Sokka, Haru and Toph all looked horrified and murderous as the words poured from Zuko's mouth, but they quickly changed to a confused silence as Katara actually laughed and sat beside him, poking at his ribs where Toph had hit him, and just as she thought would happen, Zuko gritted his teeth.

"You may have won the battle, but it looks like Toph got in more hits on you then you did on her, So your royal snobiness, Where does it hurt?"

Zuko just smiled and took a deep breath

"I sprained my wrist when I sliced through one of the pillars earlier on, I have bruising around my ribs, I believe I have pulled a few muscles in my arms, and I have may have twisted my ankle in the final fall… But other then that I am fine"

Aang and Haru Winced as Zuko recounted his ailments, Toph looked slightly embarrassed for pushing him so hard, but Katara looked slightly annoyed, she turned to Toph and sighed.

Can you earthbend the floor under him and bring him back to his-"

Katara looked horrified as Zuko sat up of the floor and made to stand

"Zuko! You're hurt; you should not push yourself like this"

"I am fine Ka-ta-ra, Besides, I have had much worse done to me before, I got caught in an explosion and survived, this is nothing"

"Is that how you got your scar?" Silence went about the room as Aang asked the question that they had all wanted to ask him from the moment they first met him, Zuko seemed to grow a bit distant, but then shrugged a bit, he began to walk towards the exit, then his voice floated back to them, and it seemed heavy.

"No, it wasn't an explosion, Three years ago Firelord Ozai Gave me this scar and a mission to capture the avatar, it was a lesson in obedience, anyway, it doesn't matter, I am going to wash and wrap up my wrist and ankle, I will catch up to you guys later. Toph, Thanks again for sparring with me, it was fun"

For a moment the group did not think he would answer, but when he did, they did not know what to say, Katara though she already knew the reason, just held her head down as Zuko walked away

--

_Next chapter... cooking XDDD_


	8. Oblivious

_Wow, no one even tried to guess…….. hurm, well last chance now. And please review! I really would like to know if you think there is anything I need to work on so I can make this a better story for you guys!_

--

The group had remained silent since Zuko had left; it was a heavy silence weighing on their shoulders, each member of the group was trying to find things to do to take there mind off what just happened. Katara went about getting dinner ready, Aang played with Momo, if only halfheartedly, Toph didn't do much at all, she was staring at the wall, and if she could see, you would swear she was counting the cracks in it, but then again, perhaps she was?

Sokka was the only one who seemed to want to say anything in fact, he first went to Katara, hovering near her for a moment, he made a few funny shapes with his mouth in an attempt to form words, but he failed to find something to say, thoughts running in his head on how she had blushed, and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear how his sister was worried about the ex-prince, even if he was growing to like Zuko, he did not want to think of his sister liking him, well not that he liked him that way, but he liked him in a friendship way, but his sister liked him in a more then friendship way, or at least that's what he thought, and now he wanted to avoid finding out.

Katara was staring at him as he seemed to be doing a funny dance near her, he seemed as though he was about to say something before he crossed his arms and glared at the ground near her, when he brought his eyes back to her and found her looking at him his face fell to a blank, he then pointed to the stew said it needed more meat and then walked away.

Aang was the next to have the fidgeting boy sit next to him, Sokka sat next to him with a heavy thud, he resolutely stared to the ground not really sure what to do with himself, the young monk raised his head to look at Sokka but nothing came out, the words seemed to fail them both, after all, how could they discus what had just happened? Aang put Momo down and took a deep breath. The silence was killing him, and it had been his outburst that deadened the mood to begin with, so he had to make an effort to fix it.

"I suppose… I should think more before I open my mouth"

The words seemed deafening and all eyes focused on Aang, well all except Toph who merely flicked at a rock at Aang's head and spat out "ya think?" Sokka laughed slightly as Aang rubbed his arrow and Katara merely worried the bottom of her lip.

"Besides" Toph continued " I don't think Sparky would have said anything if he didn't want us to know, he must trust us or something. So us all moping here is pointless really"

"I agree"

The group jumped in unison, as though they had been caught doing something bad, The voice that came from behind the group was soft but confident enough; Zuko found everyone looking at him with guilty faces, all except Katara who did not look at him at all for the moment, Zuko just shook his head and limped towards the fire. He eased himself down beside Katara and sniffed at the concoction that she was making.

Katara raised her eyes enough to see him, but did not raise her head. Why did he have to sit beside her, she felt all eyes staring at her, but she did not dare to look away from Zuko. Zuko himself was now peering around the group once more, they seemed uncomfortable and he sighed slightly.

"Look, its not that bad okay. I mean, sure I was angry about it before, and I know it looks awful, but I have lived with this for three years now, I hardly even remember its there half the time, so don't worry about it, I am okay with this, so you should be to"

"You're not okay with it." Amber eyes widened slightly as a soft voice whispered close to him, Katara was looking at the pot now, focusing hard on it as her words continued "I know your not okay with it, you said as much under Ba Sing Se, That Scar is what kept you from being… well it made you bitter, and- and it-"

Katara looked up and frowned when she saw him smiling, Aang was frowning also, he did not understand what was going on, why was Katara so well informed on this, and why was she now defending Zuko? Sokka caught the look on the airbender's face, and he knew that Aang was beginning to understand something that would possibly not sit well with him at all. Just how would the avatar react if Katara loved someone other then him? Sokka mentally slapped himself. Liked not loved, he was jumping to conclusions that was all. But the fact remained, that Katara seemed to know personal things about the prince, and Aang was not happy about that.

Zuko on the other hand seemed content with it, his smile just grew a bit wider when her words faltered, and he took that as an opportunity to break into her small speech

"Your right" He began which had her inhale sharply "I was bitter back then, I saw this as my mark of shame, every day I would see it and be reminded of my quest, my hunt for the Avatar, my banishment. My failure. Each day I was reminded of that by simply looking at my own reflection, but when I was accepted home, I began to see things differently. This mark and my banishment opened the world to me, and it opened a new life to me, because of this, I began to see things through other peoples eyes, it was not until I returned home and I was freed from my so called shame, that the veil was lifted from my eyes and I could see clearly. In choosing to defend my people that day, I was saved, after all looking like a monster, is better then being a real one like my Father"

Katara looked appalled by his choice of words, Clearly he was not happy with his scar! How could he put himself down like that! She was about to say as much but Toph beat her too it.

"What's it look like Sparky?"

"Urm" He looked to Toph and frowned slightly How do describe something to a girl that wont known any visual comparisons… "Well… you know how mud feels when it is thick and messy, and all piled in clods on top of each other?" Toph nodded liking the way Zuko chose to describe it "well that's how my skin looks, only is redder.. erm, a different color to the rest of my face, it covers my left eye and my left ear"

Toph nodded and then smiled brightly "I don't know what you're blabbing about looking like a monster, I think you look perfect!" Zuko laughed a bit and then Shrugged slightly, he knew better then to contest her words so instead he smiled to Katara who seemed a bit lost in what was going on.

"Well Peasant, What does this snob have to do for you?"

Katara went beat red, What did he mean by that, her eyes went a bit to wide, and her mind went a bit numb, just what was she expected to say to that? I mean, sure she was being nice to him and all, but this was a bit- that was when her brain caught up with her hormones, he was turning away, looking to the stew she was making, and the conversation from earlier on came back to her, he said he was going to help her with the dinner.

"Your hurt Zu- er Snob, so you should toddle off and rest and let this peasant do the peasant work"

"Hey"

Sokka's shrill cry fell on deaf ears as Zuko turned to look Katara in the eye once more, still smiling as before " Oh no, I made a promise and I intend to keep it, Now peasant (he still said it like a pet name and that irked Katara) what should I do"

Katara frowned hard, Sokka was making his way over to Zuko now with a mad look in his eyes, Katara raised a hand out to waylay her brothers assault while holding out a knife to Zuko.

"Peel the Camots Snob, Sokka Don't interfere"

The blue eyed boy openly let his jaw fall, pointedly staring between the two before throwing his arms up in the air grunting loudly. Katara turned then to another grunt, though this one was not in frustration.

The action of peeling vegetables is not an easy thing to do when your wrist is sprained, but Zuko was not about to back out of what he had said he would do, after all he meant what he said about it being unfair to Katara, once more he tired to peel back the flesh and once again the pain shooting through his wrist brought an involuntary sound from his lips. It was after the third attempt that he had the knife taken away from him and handed to Sokka who was told to peel it instead.

Now Zuko was given the job of stirring the pot while Katara went to get more water. This was when Aang came over to sit beside him. Zuko smiled to the boy and found a luke warm reply, Aang seemed a bit nervous he looked away a bit and then sighed slightly, Zuko frowned a bit and jabbed at the boys side (instantly regretting it as this also hurt his wrist) "Okay spit it out"

Aang turned his large gray eyes back to Zuko something was bothering him that was clear to see, but words were halted even before they began as Katara returned.

"Aang, I need to sit that side of Zuko if you don't mind, Zuko, I need you to keep Stirring that pot while I start working on your wrist, Sokka hurry up with that, how long does it take to peel a vegetable?"

Zuko frowned and shook his head "Hey if your not going to keep up your side of the bargain, nor am I Katara, besides, I don't need to be healed, I am not here to be a burden to you, you do enough already without having to worry about healing me, so just-"

"Hush!" Katara cut him off before he could go into another rant "If I leave you unchecked, you will end up a burden to us, besides, think of this as helping me with my training, so it is beneficial to us, Stir the pot. And fine use my name, not like you were calling me peasant right anyway"

Zuko did as he was told, He stirred the pot with his un injured hand and held out his now bandaged wrist, Katara unraveled the gauze letting it fall into a small heap beside her, and then dipped her hands into the bowl beside her, she raised them out to reveal them to be covered by her element and once more Zuko found himself being soothed by her touch.

After his wrist Katara moved up his arm, easing the pain around his torn muscles, next was his ankle, she order Zuko to remove his boot so that she could work on the area, and once more he obeyed her with no fight at all, the ankle was easy enough to repair, as it was only a twist nothing major, but then she came to a stop, there was one other area left to be seen to, and Zuko seemed to realize this also, without being asked he undid his tie and striped down the upper half of his clothing.

The bruising was already blossoming on his skin, and Katara was sure that he must have broken his ribs they were so dark. She reached out and left her hands ease over the marred areas, and found heat creeping over her cheeks, She was only healing him, that was all, nothing wrong here. But she felt wrong, unlike when she healed Aang, Zuko was… well he was… built, that was the right word for it, and even though she knew she had to do this to heal him, she still felt that she should have been doing this somewhere more, private or something.

Aang sat silently on the other side of Zuko, watching the interaction carefully, Katara seemed focused and Zuko seemed obedient to a fault, it was only when Zuko striped down to give Katara access to his ribs, that Aang saw the blush break out on his friends face. The Monk then looked to the Firebender, and his eyes widened a touch. Zuko was clueless, he had no idea what was going on, and Aang was not sure whether he should have been relieved at this, or angry that Zuko did not see Katara as the wonderful person that he saw her as.

Zuko was just silent through the lot of it, Doing as he was told, and then taking the prompt he removed his shirt, he of course noted that Katara went red, but he reasoned it differently in his mind then what was really happening. To Zuko Katara's reddening was a result of his injury, the bruising was bad, and she had poked him earlier, she must have been thinking of that and became embarrassed, no other thought even crossed his mind. So he returned his attention to the stew he was determined not to let burn.

When cool mitts moved from his skin, he took that as a sign to redress. He then turned to her with a smile

"Thank you Katara, you know if you like, I could call you Sweetness like Toph does"

Aang choked beside him and Toph laughed, Katara went puce and glared at him "If you do, I will give you back all the injuries I just worked to take away! Now go lie down I will call you when dinner is ready" He was about to protest but the look she gave him was enough.

--

Back in his room Zuko ran a hand over his mothers portrait, he traced the curve of her face before picking it up and laying it upon his chest as he stretched out upon his bed. He lay silent for a long time but then words began to flow out of his mouth.

" It's been a strange day today Mother, I don't think I have ever felt this way before, it was strained at first, but now, now I think I can remember what it felt like, I remember what you said to me today, when I was training with Aang, can you believe it mom, Me training the Avatar, it feels all a little unreal! And I felt so happy all day today, even when Sokka annoyed me, though I don't think I should interfere, but I am going to try and help Katara more. I think you would like her mom, she's like you in a lot of ways, I have never met someone as caring as her, she insisted on healing me after my spar with Toph, Oh I won also! I know it wasn't a true test, but there are no other firebenders around, and it would not be fair to fight Aang yet, though next year maybe he will agree to it."

Zuko rolled to the side and placed the framed picture back on the desk, it was only then that he saw the pair of blue eyes looking at him, How long Katara had been staring at him, he didn't know, but a slight flush hit his cheeks to have been caught talking like that, and he instantly sat up

"I was talking to my… well it's a habit, I know she's not about to hear me or anything but…"

Katara just shook her head and plopped herself onto the end of his bed, and a sudden rush of familiarity swam over her, Zuko swung his legs around so he could sit beside her and let out a small chuckle

"What's so funny?" the waterbender asked in a slightly suspicious tone, but the would be prince just shook his head softly and shrugged

" I just think its funny, I stopped writing in my journal because I was afraid you might read it, so instead I talked to my mother's picture, but you ended up hearing it anyway. Maybe it is the spirits telling me that I am not meant to have secrets from you"

Katara laughed slightly herself, and a small smile remained on her lips after, she tilted her head a bit and played with her hands…

"Well, if that's true… then why don't you tell me what is so special about today? Why are you going around with a smile on your face all morning? And why was it important for you to have that fight?"


	9. A different kind of love

_Going to bring this chapter up to the new episodes, I was actually surprised with how well they fit into this fanfiction, it made me sooo happeh I would also like to give a big thank you to all my reviewers, especially solarecilpse who gave some great advice to me! Thank you! On this advice I will be making my chapters longer and more descriptive, though this might take me longer to do, so please bear with me on it -_

--

The questions Katara asked where more personal than she possibly realized, Zuko had merely said that he was not meant to hide from her in Jest, not meaning for his words to be taken so seriously, but now Katara was demanding things from him, things he did not feel overly comfortable sharing with her. Not from embarrassment per say, more of a wish to avoid attention. Well okay he would admit it was more embarrassment, he was not fond of talking about his feelings, so to be readily asked to share personal information, well it was a lot to ask. His golden eyes faltered as thoughts swam through his head, he could always refuse to answer her, tell her that she was over stepping her boundaries and that he was entitled to have some secrets, but the results of doing that could be catastrophic, what _would_ happen if he refused to answer her? She seemed alright with him now, but if he didn't answer her question, then she might think him to be plotting against them. After all, she didn't trust him after Ba Sing Se, and she even read his journal thinking it was a letter or mission from Azula, Was saving himself a small amount of embarrassment really worth having her go cold and untrusting of him once again? He turned to face her, the thoughts swimming in his mind adding a somewhat urgent look in his eyes, he had to make it clear to her that this was nothing untrustworthy, he realized just then that he did not want to loose her trust that he was slowly earning back.

Katara would admit that she was not fully prepared for the intensity of Zuko's eyes when he turned to look to her, they had only been simple questions, at least to her mind, so why now did he turn to her like that, his amber gaze so intent, so focused. Focused on her, She could not deny the fact that her heat skipped a beat when she thought of Zuko's focus being solely on her, nor was she able to resist the blush that spread over her features. She dropped her gaze, her stomach was churning and her fingers began to fidget all the more. Why did he turn to her like that? And why did she suddenly become aware that she was alone with him, in his room, on his bed. She felt her heart begin to hammer against her chest; her mind was telling her to run from the room, despite the fact that she had asked a question, if she were to run away from him, she could deny the feelings he was causing, she could prolong the inevitable fact that she was finding hard to face. She could pretend that she did not like Zuko.

When Katara looked away, Zuko furrowed his brow, she went red again, but Zuko thought nothing of it, why would he? But seeing her looking down like that, a pang of guilt came over him, he must have done something to make her uncomfortable, he reasoned that he must have looked hostile, after all, they were alone together, and he was pretty intense, to make sure, he examined how he was feeling, he did notice he had tensed up somewhat at the thought of answering her questions, his shoulders were ridged and his fist were clenched, he had also leaned in closer to Katara then he first meant to, then he left out a calming breath, using it to ease his mind and let go of the tension in his body, but this seemed to startle Katara a little more, perhaps he was a little close to her, he had lent into her, so perhaps if he gave her a little room she would relax, he chose then to sit back against the wall, to give her as much room as he could, but still be within ear shot, that done he began to almost whisper his response. He thought it best to whisper, as she seemed like she would run from the room any second, and for some reason, that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"Katara, I said before you had a way of asking personal things without realizing it… I am not very good at talking about myself, or my feelings, but I suppose I should explain my strange behavior, I didn't think I was acting so differently today, but I guess I am just to easy to read. Well, I don't know if it will really mean anything to you, but the I guess the main reason I am acting this way is, well its is because today is the anniversary of my ascension"

Katara froze when Zuko took that deep breath, She felt it fall lightly on her shoulder, and it made her realize just how close he had gotten, how easy to could be to turn and make contact with him, this thought alone made her turn a shade darker, she could not think of Zuko that way, this was _Zuko_! She was meant to_ hate_ him not want to… she felt him move behind her, her body then seemed to turn to stone, she unable to turn to face him, and unable to flee, she just sat there and tried to ignore how intimate his voice sounded as he began to whisper a reply to her question, she also ignored the prickly sensation what was crawling up and down her arms, to do this, she tired to focus on the words he was saying. And he was right his words did not hold any meaning for her, they just left her more feeling more confused, and wishing for more answers. but more answers meant more questions, and more questions meant having to spend more time with him, and while one part of her leapt at the opportunity, another part of her was afraid, and as though those two parts of her were coming to an understanding she heard her voice responding, while her body refused to turn to face him.

"Ascension? To what?"

Katara did not turn to look at Zuko as she said this, and Zuko just found that worrying, She must not trust him, she might have thought it was something sinister, like ascension to power, well he supposed it was in a way, but not in a bad way, just, well he was over thinking things himself, for now he was concerned with getting her attention. There were a lot of ways he could go about that, he could move towards her and make her look at him forcefully, but even as the thought crossed his mind he knew that was a bad idea, he could ignore her till she looked to see if he was going to answer, but then she might get the wrong impression and just leave in a huff, no, he had to do something to make her turn around herself, but know it was because he wanted her to, and so he drew a leg behind her and prodded her back slightly with his foot, when she did not turn the first time, he repeated the action, it was slightly amusing to see her shoulders slump forward with a slight umph sound, but it was even more satisfying when she turned somewhat angry eyes, He gave her a cocky smile and then he continue talking

"The formal name for it is 'The right of Angi', it is a firebenders birth, or in short our ascension, today marks the day that I became a firebender, and became a 'true citizen of the Firenation'"

Zuko said the last line in a some what drawling tone that made Katara smile, this in turn making Zuko smile genuinely, he patted the bed beside him, inviting her to sit back with him, and to this she frowned, she was safe from this distance, it gave her an easy way to escape, it also let her heart slow down and gave her enough distance to hide her reddened cheeks. But there was that happy voice in the back of her head, it was screaming at her, saying things like _'look, he is inviting you to sit next to him, that must mean he likes you too'_ and _'if you get closer to him, and listen to him, maybe you can tell him how you feel?'_ she did not want to listen to that voice, but it seemed her body was revolting against her, she turned on the bed and made her way to sit beside him, the only thing she managed to do was keep a decent space between herself and Zuko, She refused to cuddle up next to him, even if the little voice in her head was telling her how easy it would be.

"Okay… I will explain it as best as I can, but, can you promise not to tell on me? It's not like today is a bad thing or anything, but, I just don't want a big deal made out of it, I would like to remember today for how it was"

Zuko seemed almost childish as he asked her imploringly not to tell the group what he was telling her, she found herself looking at him and thinking the situation all too cute, she half smiled and then nodded to Zuko, and Zuko took this as being good enough, and Katara's eyes widened slightly as she began to realize just how much Zuko trusted her, however, before she could voice this, Zuko continued on with his explanation

"You see in the Firenation, it is a great honor to have a bender in your family, So we tend to celebrate the day we first begin to bend, When we wake, we greet the sun and thank it for its guidance over the last year, then we celebrate the day with our family, showing gratitude to the spirits for protecting us that year, then traditionally we are meant to spar against another firebender, to show what we have learned from our previous bout. So I guess that answers two of your questions… as for the smile… well…"

Zuko looked down, Katara seemed to note his breathing becoming a bit more rapid and his brow creasing a bit more, so far what he told her was not personal, but looking from his reactions now, it seemed that this was the part he was uncomfortable telling her, a bout of guilt washed over her for prying into matters that did not really concern her, but she was curious now and she found she really wanted to hear what he was going to say. She felt an urge to reach out and touch him, just place a hand upon him to tell him that it was alright, to show him that she was there for him, but she held herself back from taking such an action. Instead she sat there in the silence, waiting till he was ready. But the silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity, and Katara feared that he was not going to answer at all, after an age (or possibly only a few second, but in katara's mind time was stretching longer then normality)Katara could not hold it back any longer, she raised a trembling hand and left her fingers reach forward, she sought to touch his scared cheek once again, almost reaching it. but he found his voice at that moment, she brought her hand back quickly, letting it rest in her lap, she tried not to think on what she had wanted to do, instead she once more focused upon Zuko's voice, listening to its soft whispers that Katara was finding herself loving and hating for the same reason

"Every year at my ascension I would have the eyes of my family thrown upon me, I would be made to spar, and every year I would loose my bout, My mother would praise me for trying my best, because she said that was what she loved about me, she said I never gave up, and that's what made me strong. but my Father did not think that way, he would always look at me with cold uncaring eyes, you see, even though I am older then her, Azula began to Firebend a week after I did, and so she was chosen as my sparing partner, I have never once beaten her. All my years of training only showed that I was weak in my father's eyes, unable to best my sister who was younger, and unable to improve because all I ever felt like was a failure. I began to see that day as nothing but a day that marked my failures, and I never looked forward to it. Even in my quest to find Aang, I never celebrated this day, and my crew never mentioned it either. I guess this was the first year that I felt I could have this day to myself, it was the first time that I did not feel it marked me as a failure, I felt proud to be a firebender today, and to secretly celebrate it with people that I find I now care about."

"Zuko…" Katara found herself growing steadily guilty as Zuko began to explain why he had the smile, she did not doubt him, but she realized only now, how personal her question was. She had asked it without thinking, and now here he was explaining that for the first time in his life he felt at peace enough to celebrate a day that should mean so much to him, Then something unexpected happened. Katara felt his lips upon the skin of her temple, her head began to swim as she tried to register what was happening, her senses elated, Zuko had kissed her, even if it was only on her forhead, his lips had still touched to her skin, she thought she would burst for the feeling of joy that was spreadin through her veins, Zuko was standing and holding a hand out to her, his smile never faltering now, she idly reached her hand out to him and wondered what was going on, as her fingers curled over his out stretched palm, all that joy she was feeling suddenly left to his next set words.

"I wish I could have had a sister like you, without even trying to, you just make me feel better. I am beginning to feel like I am part of a family here, I find myself caring about Aang like a brother and Toph and you, you are the best sisters a guy could ever have, I might have to ask Sokka if he will trade with me"

Katara saw the humor in his face, and even attempted a laugh with him. But she suddenly felt sick, a sister, he saw her like a sister. She felt as though the ground was falling away from her, and she almost didn't hear Zuko as he asked why she had come to begin with, Zuko was not aware of the rejection Katara was feeling and she knew it would be unfair to him if she stormed out, after all, what he said was rather sweet, he told her that he did care about her, but, it was not the way she wanted. It took all she had to answer him without her voice cracking; Zuko did not seem to notice anything strange he just led her back to the yard where dinner had been made. Katara held his hand, for only a moment before withdrawing it and following behind him, it felt to her like her heart was breaking with every step.

--

Sokka was the first one to see it as they came back into the clearing, Zuko was the same as he was this morning, Sokka noticed that the small smile on his lips and the casual but almost friendly walk was still in place, but Katara was different, it wasn't a very noticeable change, but it was clear for him to see, her eyes seemed distant and she was walking a little further away from Zuko then she had the previous time they returned. Her hands were fidgeting with a bit of her dress and her shoulders where slightly hunched. Sokka frowned slightly at this sight, wondering what Zuko had done now to upset his sister, but Zuko was acting like nothing happened, and Katara didn't seem mad at him, just… distant. Sokka thought on this, something must have happened but seeing as Katara was being so quiet about it, it would not do to start drawing attention to her by shouting at Zuko, instead he would question his sister, after all, Zuko seemed to be clueless to whatever it was that he did anyway. The Watertribe boy stood just as the pair took there seats, he was finished his dinner so it didn't matter that they were just sitting to eat theirs, He bypassed Zuko to sit by his sister, she smile weakly to him, while it would generally be enough to fool most people, it wasn't very convincing to him, Sokka leaned into her then and whispered into her ear, so as not to alert the rest of the group.

"Katara, what's wrong?"

Katara felt as though the air was closing in on her, her throat was tight and her legs were heavy, walking back with Zuko was hard, when all she wanted to do was go to her room and cry, but that would look strange, and possibly have Zuko following her wondering what was wrong, she could not tell him that she liked him, especially not just after he said that she was like a sister to him, also the thought of what he had said previously came back to her, what his mother used say to him. Zuko never gave up, if he thought something was wrong, he would have pressured her into telling him, and that would never do, so she just followed him, and hoped he didn't notice her mood change, but it was inevitable that Sokka did, stupid as he was at times, he was also her brother, and knew her better than anyone, so when Sokka sat beside her and asked what was wrong, she needed to think of a convincing reason, something that would put her into this mood, that would not be a lie if Sokka questioned Zuko about it, but what?

Sokka lent in closer to his sister, not giving her much room to breath, when he was almost to close for decency, she turned her head from him a bit, Sokka frowned and only saw that as incentive to be more pressing on the issue, he grasped her hand and pulled her up, this action obviously startling her, as she made no effort to help him in hauling her to her feet, when Sokka got her standing, he then proceeded to draw more attention to them by dragging her off to the side, it was clear that Katara was shocked by his actions, but she followed him nonetheless, when he had her far enough away from the (now staring) group, he broke his (somewhat) calm act, Sokka had always been overly emotional, so it was not strange to see his arms flailing wildly, but he was feeling more then a bit annoyed that Katara was upset by the stupid Firenation prince that had just joined them and been grumpy from the word go, who did that Jerk think he was upsetting his baby sister like that? Just because he was cool in fighting Toph and used be a superhero, did not give him the right to pick on Katara, Sokka was thinking along these lines and his voice cracked as he started vocalizing his accusations.

"Okay, What did that firebending Jerk do to you?! You left to get him for dinner in a good mood, and now you come back here looking like batwolf ate your favorite bending scroll!! What happened Katara?! And don't lie to me, I may not be as good as Toph, but with you I will know!"

Katara had taken a step back, she knew Sokka would react this way, but she did not think he would be _so _demanding about it, she needed to think of something to say, but what? She could not lie outright, that would be stupid. But she could not tell him the truth, that would only make the situation ten times worse. He was staring at her and she shifted uncomfortably, she had to think something, she felt beads of sweat form on her brow, the room seemed to grow even more stifling, her mind was working at a rather fast pace but seemed to be coming up with nothing at all. Sokka began to turn from her then, for a moment she thought that she was safe, but she realized that he was making a beeline for Zuko. She could not have that! She needed to stop him, and before she realized what she was going to say, her mouth opened and words started pouring out.

"He didn't _do_ anything Sokka, I went to get him and he was looking at a picture, I think it was his mom, I don't know, it was weird, we got talking about family and stuff, and well, I guess I just got upset that's all, I don't think he even noticed"

Katara had to admit to herself, for something that she plucked out of nowhere, she pulled that off pretty well, she hadn't lied to him per say, but left out just enough details to hide the real truth, Katara attempted a smile, it was a weak one but a smile none the less, she hoped it would be enough to get Sokka to back down, but when she looked at her brother, she found him looking a bit worried, Perhaps the mention of family hurt him also? She was not so sure, her tummy began to swirl uncomfortably again, had she just upset her brother also? That wasn't supposed to happen! She was about to tell him the full story then, but Sokka interrupted her near confession by placing his hand to her shoulder and giving her a bright smile.

"I miss mom and dad too, but we have each other right? I mean, we are all family now, remember what you said to Aang when he first went into the avatar state all that time ago, we are all family Katara, and we all look out for each other, So, even though it's hard, just remember that you are not alone"

Katara returned his smile, but for a more reasons then the fact that he had just been incredibly sweet, Sokka fell for her half truth, and she was saved from an embarrassing confession, she reached out her arms and pulled him into a hug, for Katara, a wash of relief spread through her, the sick feeling in her stomach was still there, and her forehead still tingled from the ghost of Zuko's lips, but now that she would not have to explain this to Sokka, the tension in her shoulders released and she began to feel a lot calmer.

--

As Sokka lead Katara away, Aang brought Zuko his dinner, Aang was not sure why he felt the need to sit with Zuko, but there was something bothering him now and he felt he had to say it, He watched as the ex-price accepted the bowl and happily took a bit, but then a frown appeared on the airbenders features, Zuko just turned to look at Katara, Aang had noticed that Zuko was staring at his crush as Sokka led her away, and he registered that as soon as they had cleared hearing range, Sparky had drawn his hands into fists, Sokka had began to (what looked like) shout at Katara, and Zuko did not seem happy about that at all.

"Zuko… What's erm… Why do you look upset?"

Zuko who had indeed been rather annoyed at Sokka's treatment of Katara, found it hard to look away from the pair, but it would not do to ignore Aang either, so he forced his gaze to young boy, (a good thing too, as Sokka had chosen that moment to start marching his way) Aang was frowning and his eyebrows were knitted together, he seemed almost angry rather then concerned, this confused Zuko slightly but he refrained from mentioning that when he replied.

"It's nothing Aang, I just don't like how he treats her that's all, I mean, I just don't think Sokka realizes how lucky he is to have a sister like Katara, I would trade Azula for her in a heartbeat, but it doesn't matter, I can't order Sokka to be nicer to her, and I can't make her my sister, no matter how much I want to, so don't worry about it okay?"

Aang blinked several times, it took a moment for it to click with him, but an understanding began to spread over his features, and his eyes became brighter, it wasn't that Zuko didn't like Katara, it was that he thought of her like a sister! Aang began to smile brightly as Katara and Sokka rejoined the group, Katara took a seat next to Toph who had been strangely quiet, and Sokka made an excuse and left for bed.

The conversation that began to spark up after Sokka left, was mainly on what kind of foods they liked to eat, or what hobbies they had in the past, Aang Explianed the rules of Airball, and how he invented a new airbending moves, like the Airscooter, which he then demonstrated, then is was Toph's turn, She explained to Zuko why she was called 'the blind bandit' and He looked mildly impressed by her, explaining that he never got to do anything 'cool' with his firebending as his teachers never allowed for experimentation, and when he began to train with his uncle, the old man had him start from the beginning to try and learn things properly, Aang was laughing again as Zuko explained how his uncle would obsess over drinking tea and how he had actually grown fond of making tea with his uncle, though he would never admit the fact to him, it was then that Toph suggested he should make them all tea at dinner the next day, everyone seemed to be in support of this, and even Zuko did not seem to mind so much.

The night went along pleasantly and Zuko found himself laughing once or twice, but he could not help but look at Katara as she seemed to grow quieter and quieter; he edged over to her just as everyone was settling down to sleep, Aang was snoring loudly and Toph wasn't really moving, Haru, 'the Duke' and Teo had left a while ago, so it was just him and Katara for the time being. Katara made out like she was getting her bed ready, but Zuko just sat beside her and looked out to the stable where Appa was resting, He did not look at her as he spoke, and again his voice went soft, he was not doing it on purpose, it just seemed to take that tone when he was near her.

" Katara, I don't know what's wrong, but, you seemed a bit I dunno, out of it tonight, if it was something Sokka said, well, there's not a lot I can do but, well… I just don't like him treating you that way and…"

"Zuko" Katara cut him off before he made her feel any worse then she already did, he was being considerate of her, but now she knew it was only out of 'brotherly' concern, she found she did not want that. "Sokka is the only family I have left at the moment, My mother has died, and my father… well, He takes care of me, and I take care of him, even if he annoys me, that's okay, because that is how Sokka is, if he were any other way, he would not be the brother that I love, so don't go defending me against him, because I am perfectly capable of handling him. Now, I think you should go to sleep, its late, and Aang needs to do more firebending tomorrow."

With that she turned over to her side and curled up as to go to sleep, Zuko just nodded and took that as his cue to leave, she was right of course, and he was just sticking his nose into places it did not belong, but it still stung that she was so cold about it, but then what did he expect? She was after all, only recently warming to him, he was being to pushy about the issue, that was the only conclusion he could come to, it made sense now that he thought on it, just because he felt that way about her, did not mean she would feel that way about him. She hardly trusted him, how was she meant to think of him like an older brother?! The Firenation prince returned to his room feeling remotely stupid, and laying on this his bed stomach side down, he groaned to his pillow.

"_Why do I have to ruin everything?"_

_--_

_Okay okay, I know its not very Zutara for now, but it will happen eventually, I just don't like to rush things that's all, trust me on this._


End file.
